Poppy Gibson (left on ground) in action for the New Zealand Youth Girls. Photo / Gary Bradshaw Photography
Poppy Gibson (left on ground) in action for the New Zealand Youth Girls. Photo / Gary Bradshaw Photography
If she hadn’t spent seven years living in Australia, Te Puke High School student Poppy Gibson would know as much about AFL as most other Kiwis.
Poppy moved to Sydney with her family when her father, former All Black Daryl Gibson, was appointed NSW Warratahs’ assistant coach in 2013.
“Ithink if I didn’t live in Australia, I’d be like every other New Zealander - I’d have no idea what [AFL] is and I’d consider it super weird,” she says.
Instead, her eyes were opened to the game and she was good enough to get a place at Sydney Swans’ Academy.
Now back in New Zealand, playing opportunites are there, if you know where to look - and are prepared to travel.
The 2023 AFL New Zealand Women’s Premiership, in its third year, began in Februray with three teams and wound up in April. All games were in Auckland and Poppy played for the premiership winning Central Shakers.
“There were quite a lot of people travelling from all over the place. My sister came up from Christchurch for it.”
Last year Poppy was drafted into the New Zealand Youth Squad for what turned out to be a postponed transtasman competition.
This season, however, she retained her place and was part of the New Zealand Youth Girls’ team that played a visiting team from Mornington Peninsula BlueScope Steelers.
“We played two games against them and they smashed us, but it was a really cool experience,” she says.
Poppy Gibson with her New Zealand Youth Girls AFL jersey. Photo / Gary Bradshaw Photography
The youth team is made up of people who played in Australia then returned to New Zealand and those who have never played before, but wanted to give it a go.
Poppy believes the sport had potential in New Zealand.
“I would love to see it grow, but I don’t know if enough people know about it - you have to have a bit of history with it to want to play it. It’s a big commitment, spending your weekend to go and play it, giving up your holidays for a sport that’s not dominant here.”
AFL isn’t Poppy’s only sport - she also plays netball, water polo, touch and rugby as well as throwing the javelin.
“I do a lot of sport, but I’d say [AFL] is my favourite because it uses every skill from lots of different sports.
“What I like about AFL is, it’s not really that much contact, and how you can just run and it uses kicking and hand balling, marking, catching. There’s a physical element to it too - and fitness - it’s a very cool sport.”
Poppy would like others to have the opportunities she has had to play sports that are big in Australia.
“Oz Tag - like Rippa Rugby - is huge over there. We’d go up to Coffs Harbour every year in January to this huge state tournament with all these players - there’s nothing like it over here.”
Despite her father’s sporting achievements in rugby, Poppy doesn’t see herself going in the same direction, despite the increasing popularity of the women’s game.
But, she recognises that if she is to continue to play AFL at a high level, she will need, and is prepared, to go back to Australia.
“They have all these academies for it - it’s just normal for them - over here it’s like ‘what’s that?’.
“There’s it’s more a sport you can go and play and get scouted or drafted from - but it would have to be in Australia.”
