Danielle Ponter

Last updated

Danielle Ponter
Danielle Ponter 2019.1.jpg
Ponter playing for Adelaide in January 2019
Personal information
Full name Danielle Ann Ponter
Born (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000 (age 25)
Darwin, Northern Territory
Original teams St Mary's (NTFL)
Essendon (VFLW)
Draft No. 48, 2018 AFLW draft
Debut Round 2, 2019, Adelaide  vs. Carlton, at Ikon Park
Height 161 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Position Forward
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 15
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2019– Adelaide 86 (91)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Danielle Ann Ponter (born 8 January 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She played for St Mary's and Essendon in her junior career, typically as a forward. Ponter was selected with pick 48 in the 2018 AFL Women's draft and made her debut in round 2 of the 2019 season. She was nominated for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 4.

Contents

Early life and education

Danielle Ann Ponter [1] was born on 8 January 2000 [2] in Darwin, Northern Territory. [3] She had a strong footballing background as part of the noted Rioli–Long family; [4] she is the niece of former Essendon player Michael Long and the cousin of former Hawthorn footballer Cyril Rioli. [5]

Early football

Ponter began playing for St Mary's at 11 in the under-16 female division of Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), in the 2011–12 season. [5] [6]

Ponter competed at the 2014 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships for the Thunder Devils (a combined Northern Territory–Tasmania team) at 14. [5] She competed at the next three championships [5] and additionally played for the Central Allies in a state of origin match in 2017 [7] and 2018. [8] Ponter attended the 2018 AFLW draft combine [9] and was a member of the 2018 AFLW Academy, one of 29 seventeen-year-old prospects. [10]

She played for Essendon's VFL Women's side in 2018, kicking six goals in six matches. [5] Ahead of the 2018 AFLW draft, prospects nominated a state or region they wished to play in; Ponter chose South Australia, meaning Adelaide, as the only South Australian club, was the only team with an opportunity to select her. [5]

AFLW career

"The things she can do with a footy are phenomenal. I don't know if I've seen any other young player like her."

Aasta O'Connor, AFLW talent manager [5]

Ponter was drafted by Adelaide with pick 48 in the 2018 AFLW draft, their fifth selection. [9] She continued to play in the NTFL prior to the 2019 AFL Women's season. She was not selected for the opening round of the 2019 season; coach Matthew Clarke acknowledged she was "pretty stiff to miss out". [11] Ponter made her debut the next round, playing as a defender in contrast to her usual position of forward in her junior career. [12] This made her the first member of the Rioli–Long family to play top-level women's Australian rules football. [9] She returned to the forward line in round 4 and received a nomination for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award after kicking two goals. [12]

Ponter became a premiership player in 2019 and again in 2022 (season 6). She kicked two of Adelaide's four goals in the 13-point victory over Melbourne in the 2022 season 6 Grand Final.

In 2023 AFL Women's season, Ponter kicked 20 goals including the finals series, the most memorable of which was a goal from the centre square against Richmond. [13] This tally allowed her to overtake Erin Phillips as the Crows' all-time leading goalscorer. In the same year, Ponter earned her first All-Australian selection. She kicked a career-best five goals in 2024 against Hawthorn at Unley Oval. [14]

Recognition and awards

While playing for St Mary's, Ponter won the Sharyn Smith Medal, the division best and fairest, in four consecutive seasons. [6]

She was nominated for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award. [12]

At the 2025 NAIDOC Awards Ponter was presented with the Sportsperson Award. [15]

References

  1. ↑ Welsh, Sophie (23 November 2024). "AFLW Pocket Profile: Danielle Ponter". AFL Women's . Melbourne. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  2. ↑ "Danielle Ponter". Australian Football. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Callum (19 May 2018). "VFLW: Back home". essendonfc.com.au. Telstra Media . Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Cherny, Daniel (20 October 2018). "A Long story with a new footy twist". The Age . Fairfax Media . Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Black, Sarah (19 October 2018). "Rioli-Long lineage set to continue in AFLW". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media . Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  6. 1 2 "AFLW: Adelaide call NT talent Danielle Ponter". afc.com.au. Telstra Media. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  7. ↑ Arnold, Caitlin (25 August 2017). "AFLW State of Origin U18s Allies squad confirmed". aflnswact.com.au. AFL NSW/ACT . Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Central Allies". womens.afl. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 Morris, Grey (23 October 2018). "Danielle Ponter gets the thumbs up from AFLW club Adelaide after her No.48 draft selection". Northern Territory News . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "AFLW: 2018 Academy prospects revealed". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  11. ↑ Morris, Grey (8 February 2019). "St Mary's young gun Danielle Ponter to make her AFLW debut for the Crows against Carlton". Northern Territory News . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 Black, Sarah (26 February 2019). "Great footy bloodlines in round four Rising Star nominee". womens.afl. Telstra Media . Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  13. ↑ "Adelaide Crows go top of AFLW ladder with 29-point win over Richmond at Princes Park". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 September 2023.
  14. ↑ Clark, Jackson (16 September 2024). "Ponter's record-breaking haul steers Crows to emphatic win". National Indigneous Times.
  15. ↑ "Daniel Hunt wins coveted NAIDOC Person of the Year". ABC News. 5 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
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