Few things inspire passion and devotion in this country like Australian Rules Football. For women who love the game, though, it can be a space where acceptance and rejection are dealt out in equal measure.

When AFL goal umpire Chelsea Roffey talks about her early memories of football, it's with a warm sense of nostalgia.

Footy took my heart and I've been trying to get bits of it back since. Erin Riley

'I can remember some very early memories of being on the outskirts of country footy grounds, of being around family and community,' she says.

But when she writes about it in her frequently hilarious contribution to From the Outer: Footy Like You've Never Heard It, it's from the perspective of someone who has endured years of leering abuse from sections of the football community.

'Big ticks to the Romeo,' she writes, 'who complimented me on the switch to green uniforms. ("You look great in lime green. I'd love to squeeze the juice out of ya!").'

This tension between inclusion and exclusion—plays out through many of the short stories, articles and poems in From the Outer, a new book featuring 30 personal stories by women and other 'unexpected voices' of the AFL community, such as Stan Grant and Christos Tsiolkas.

The AFL prides itself on being progressive, and makes concerted yearly efforts to further diversity and tolerance in the game.

But when one of the game's greats is racially abused throughout his final season, and when the inclusion of a female host on an all-male television football show sparks an outcry, it shows how far the game still has to come.

Related: Essendon's Purple Bombers tackle homophobia

Journalist Erin Riley loves football, its traditions and its 'beauty'. Being an authority on the game and its history, however, doesn't prevent the kind of abuse women involved in football are routinely subjected to.

'I've personally experienced a lot of discrimination at games,' says Riley.

'I wrote a piece about the 2014 grand final and some abuse I heard at the game.

'I got rape threats and death threats, the whole thing. That did change the way I think about football in some ways, but there are those things that keep drawing me back.'

It's why, she says, her contribution to From the Outer is titled Sleepless in September.

'I really wanted to frame my relationship with football as kind of a love story,' says Riley.

'Footy took my heart and I've been trying to get bits of it back since.'

The book's co-editor, Nicole Hayes, experiences a similar push and pull.

Her contribution describes the 'gut-twisting' ache she's felt watching local games, never having been able to play herself. Yet it doesn't change her love for the game.

'Some of these esteemed writers were a little apologetic about their love of the game. There's this notion that footy is somehow anti-intellectual,' says Hayes.

'It wasn't just about getting these individual stories out there; it was about broadening the conversation and having some of the people who are talked about, talking in the conversation.'

For Chelsea Roffey, the first female to umpire at an AFL Grand Final, writing in the book offered the chance to express her feelings in her own voice.

'If you do a media interview, you're there with a panel of blokes and you sort of get swept up in people's perceptions of you,' says Roffey.

'I'm so tired of hearing about how difficult it is being female. How many hurdles and challenges you have to overcome.

'It should be something to be celebrated, having something alternative to offer from a different world view.'

More than anything, From the Outer details the experiences of football tragics. For many of the contributors, the footy is not only the highlight of the week, but the very thing each working day builds toward.

'I love the sense of community. I've always loved that sense of identity you get from wearing your red and white, and singing the song after the siren,' says Riley.

'The game itself is beautiful to watch at times. That combination of grace and athleticism is just really remarkable. It's just a gorgeous game.'

Listen to the full discussion. Tuesday 12 April 2016 Nicole Hayes, Erin Riley and Chelsea Roffey join Books and Arts for a conversation around women and their experiences with footy. More This [series episode segment] has image,

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