AN AFLW Indigenous All Stars game would be the highlight of Danielle Ponter's career if she were to ever get the opportunity to play in one.

Back in February, Ponter was one of a contingent of AFLW players who travelled to Perth to experience the festivities around the men's Indigenous All Stars game, which included time spent with communities, cultural sessions with the men's players, all culminating in the match against Fremantle at Optus Stadium.

"We were invited over to the men's AFL All Stars match, and there were maybe 10 or 15 of us girls that were invited over, and just being a part of that week was really special and exciting. But sitting back and not being able to play, it's sad, because you want to be out there," Ponter told AFL.com.au.

"And I sat back throughout the week, and I listened to all the stories that were being told, and obviously it hadn't happened in 10 years, and I always go back to the story that 'Pauly' Vandenberg shared, and it was a story of this photo. And in the photo was Bradley Hill and Bobby Hill, and he speaks of that story as like, how important those games are and what that did for Bobby, and what that does for many more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids.

"I sat there listening to that story and I thought, well I want that to be me. I want to be in someone's photo, and I want to inspire someone."

In 2025 there are 22 Indigenous players listed in the AFLW, including Ponter. There is a desire across the AFL to increase that number, but the challenges Indigenous girls and women face when pursuing elite sport are unique and must be carefully navigated.

Ponter herself almost didn't pursue the game at its highest level, despite coming from the famous footballing lineage of Michael Long and Cyril Rioli.

"It's different everywhere, everyone has different challenges. For me, I almost didn't do it because I had to move and I had to leave everything behind; what I was most comfortable with, the people I loved," Ponter said.

"I'm not a very outspoken girl. I'm shy, I'm quiet until you get to know me, and I'll rip your ear off. Like, it's intimidating, and I think a lot of girls see it that way. It's hard to come out of these environments and into something like this, it's a completely different world and I don't think a lot of people understand that.

"There is support in place, but at the moment, I just don't think there's enough, so it'd be hard for a young girl to come out of a remote community, wherever that is, and step into a scene like this."

Even with more advantages than many other Indigenous kids, Ponter was challenged when making the step up to elite programs. First, she played with St Marys in the Northern Territory, and spent some time with Essendon's VFLW program before being drafted to Adelaide ahead of the 2019 season.

She spent the first five seasons on Adelaide's list commuting from Darwin, only moving to South Australia in 2023.

"I grew up in Darwin and I was probably one of the lucky ones. I always had footy around me, I had academies, I was able to play footy, train, I had boots, I had runners, I had food on the table every night. I had a home, and a lot of these girls probably don't have a lot of that stuff," Ponter explained.

"I've had experience in remote communities. My mother lives in a remote community. My grandparents lived in a remote community, so it's very different, and I think that's why I speak to being intimidated, because it is very different, and you're not going to get the standard that people want these girls to be rolling in, in a physical way.

"You're not going to get that immediately, and I share my story to help people, because I didn't come in, even though I had everything, I didn't come in in a physically fit way. I was almost (so) unfit that I didn't get drafted."

Adelaide's persistence with Ponter has paid off, with the forward playing in two flags, named All-Australian in 2023, and twice finishing as the club's leading goalkicker. But that all came as a result of the Crows' patience with her, something that is hard to come by when AFLW lists are limited to just 30 active players, and 24 required for a squad to be named each week.

"They stuck with me, and they gave me the time, they gave me their energy, and now I'm a two-time premiership player … you want more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the game, well, give them the time, give them the energy, and they might show up like me or Gemma Houghton or Courtney Hodder," Ponter implored.

"There's a lot of talent and potential in them, it's just whether people want to give them the time of day … it's patience and culturally, that's a very significant thing for us."