Angela Foley (born 13 December 1988) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er playing for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

(AFLW). She previously played for the

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

from 2017 to season 6. A defender, tall, Foley plays primarily on the

half-back line In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-back line refers to the positions of the 3 players on the field that occupy the centre half-back and left and right half-back flank positions. Centre half-back The role of the centre half-bac ...

with the ability to push into the

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

. After spending her early life in country Victoria, in which she won a premiership and best and fairest with Bendigo Thunder, she moved to Darwin in 2013. Her career in the Northern Territory saw her win three consecutive premierships, two consecutive league

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

s, a grand final

best on ground Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

medal, and interstate representation. Foley's performances in representative matches in 2016 saw her recruited by the Adelaide Football Club as a priority selection for the inaugural AFLW season. She is a dual AFL Women's premiership player.

Early life

Foley was born and raised in

Shepparton, Victoria Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton ...

. She played with the Bendigo Thunder in the

Victorian Women's Football League The Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) was the oldest and largest Australian rules football league for women in the world, consisting of 47 clubs from Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia across seven divisions with a total of over ...

north west conference, winning the club's inaugural

medal in 2011 and a premiership in the 2012 season. She moved to Darwin at the start of 2013 and joined the

Waratah Football Club The Waratah Football Club, nicknamed, Warriors or Tahs, is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League. Club achievements History The club was formed in November 1916, and was one of the original foundation clubs. Waratah is the ...

in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football competition, operating in Greater Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and the Northern Territory, formerly run by the Northern Territory Football League Incorporated a ...

(NTFL), winning the premiership in her first season with the club and the Brenda Williams Medal as the

in the grand final. She won a further two premierships with the club in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons and was also announced the league's most valuable women's player for both seasons. Foley represented the Northern Territory for the first time in 2015 when the territory faced

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in May. She was selected as part of the inaugural NT Thunder talent program in 2016 and represented the territory in April against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. She was selected by the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

for an exhibition match against the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

in May, with the ''

NT News The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from Monday to Saturday. It pri ...

'' reporter, Marc McGowan, stating her two matches against Victoria and Tasmania were key to her selection for Melbourne. In June, she represented the Northern Territory against South Australia in a curtain raiser before the AFL versus match at

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

. Her representative performances throughout the year saw her selected for Melbourne in the all-stars match against the in September at

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Mission Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquart ...

, in which she kicked a goal and was named one of Melbourne's best players. Foley also played two seasons in the premier

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

competition in Darwin for the Hoggies, but elected to give up the sport from the 2016 season to focus on her football career.

AFL Women's career

Adelaide (2017–2022)

Foley was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club as a priority selection in August 2016. She was named as Adelaide's inaugural co-vice-captain alongside Sally Riley in January 2017. She made her debut in the thirty-six point win against at

Thebarton Oval Thebarton Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia currently used for a variety of sports including Australian rules football. It was the home ground of South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Torrens Football Cl ...

in the opening round of the 2017 season. Her performance in the three point win against at

in round three drew praise due to her limiting the impact of the league leading goalkicker, Darcy Vescio–keeping her to zero disposals after halftime–with the

Australian Associated Press Australian Associated Press Ltd (AAP) is an Australian news agency. It was founded in 1935 by Keith Murdoch. AAP employs around 90 journalists who work in bureaus in all states and territories of Australia except the Northern Territory. It al ...

reporter, Ben McKay, writing she effectively shut down the dangerous forward. After the club finished second on the ladder, she was a part of Adelaide's premiership side after the club defeated by six points at

Metricon Stadium Carrara Stadium (also known as People First Stadium under naming rights) is a stadium on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara, Queensland, Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for A ...

in the

AFL Women's Grand Final The AFL Women's Grand Final is an annual women's Australian rules football match to determine the AFL Women's (AFLW) premiers for that year. Each year, the winning club receives a premiership trophy and premiership flag; all players in the win ...

. She played every match in her debut season to finish with eight matches and finished equal fifth in the Adelaide Club Champion award with 81 votes alongside Rhiannon Metcalfe. After re-signing with Adelaide for the 2018 season, she was named one of Adelaide's vice-captains for the second consecutive season with Sally Riley. She played the opening two matches of the season before she was suspended for one match due to kneeing

Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...

in the thirty-two point loss to at

Casey Fields Casey Fields is a $30 million, 70 hectare multi-sports complex in the City of Casey at Cranbourne East, a southeastern suburb of Melbourne. The complex is home to Australian rules football, cricket, netball, soccer, tennis, cycle spor ...

. In her return match, the draw against at

Blacktown International Sportspark Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (officially known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australi ...

in round four, she recorded twenty disposals, six marks and three tackles, with ''Shepparton News'' journalist, Tyler Maher, writing she returned from suspension with a bang. In the four point win against at

TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently known as TIO Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Marrara, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. With a seating capacity of 12,215, the ground is the largest stadium in the Nort ...

in round six, she was the acting captain for the match and despite regular captains

Erin Phillips Erin Victoria Phillips (born 19 May 1985) is an Australian basketball player and former Australian rules football player. She played nine seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for five different teams and is a two-time ...

and

Chelsea Randall Chelsea Randall (born 14 June 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club#AFL Women's team, Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She is one of the club's inaugural AFLW team co-captains, and ...

playing in the match, the club elected to give Foley the captaincy in front of her home crowd. For her performance in the match, in which she recorded fifteen disposals, six tackles and four marks, she was named in AFL Media's team of the week and received two league best and fairest votes, meaning she was adjudged the second best player on the ground by the field umpires. Her performances throughout the season saw her named in the initial forty player All-Australian squad and she finished fourth in Adelaide's Club Champion award with 106 votes. In 2021, Foley was named as the stand-in captain of Adelaide's

2021 AFL Women's Grand Final The 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at the Adelaide Oval on 17 April to determine the premiers of the fifth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The match was contested by the Adelaide Crows a ...

team, after long-time captain

was ruled out from the game due to concussion.

Port Adelaide (2022–present)

In April 2022, Foley announced her intention to sign with 's inaugural AFLW team, officially signing with the club on the opening day of the expansion signing period in May. In 2024, Foley was named among Port Adelaide's best players in its loss to North Melbourne in week 4.

Statistics

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2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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Off-field

Outside of her football career, Foley is the director of sport at the Essington School Darwin in Nightcliff, Northern Territory. She also works part time at Brighton Secondary School in

Brighton, South Australia Brighton is a coastal suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, situated between Seacliff, South Australia, Seacliff and Glenelg, South Australia, Glenelg and aside Holdfast Bay. Some notable features of the area are the Brighton-Seacliff Yacht Clu ...

Honours and achievements

Team * 2× AFL Women's premiership player ():

* AFL Women's minor premiership ():

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Ange 1988 births Living people Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) players Port Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) players Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Victorian Women's Football League players Australian netball players