Deborah "Debbie" Lee (born 1974) is a former Australian rules football player and coach.
| Debbie Lee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Lee in February 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Deborah Lee | ||
| Date of birth | 1974 (age 49–50) | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1991–1992 | East Brunswick Scorpions | ? (?) | |
| 1993–2014 | St Albans Spurs | 200+ (?) | |
| Total | 304 (?) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| Victoria | 15 (?) | ||
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| ????– | St Albans Spurs | ||
2017 |
Representative Victoria |
1 (1–0–0) | |
|
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2017. | |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
She has campaigned for recognition of women's Australian rules football in Australia, giving up a WNBL career to focus on developing the sport.[1]
She was later appointed president of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL).
Apart from being the president of the VWFL, she played for the St Albans Spurs. She first played in 1990 with the East Brunswick Scorpions before forming her own club in 1992, the Spurs. Hall won the Helen Lambert Medal as the Victorian women's competition best and fairest five times and was an All-Australian named player six times.[2]
Lee worked as the head of the Melbourne Football Club's AFL Women's operations in 2017 before leaving to take up the same role with the Western Bulldogs in 2018. She was at the same time appointed as the club's VFLW coach for the 2018 season.[3] A key initiative of Lee's were the Melbourne-Western Bulldogs exhibition matches that ultimately paved the way for the formation of the AFLW.[4]
Lee was the first-ever female inductee to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2021[2] for her playing excellence and for being the driving force for women's AFL.[4]
References
edit- ^ Flanagan, Martin (22 May 2015). "The legend of Deb Lee". The Age. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ a b "History-maker Debbie Lee joins Saints great in Hall of Fame". afl.com.au. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ "Women's football pioneer Debbie Lee leaves Melbourne to join Western Bulldogs". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- ^ a b "'We were an afterthought': Women's footy trailblazer becomes historic inductee". afl.com.au. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
