A country football club in South Australia is waiting to find out if it will be penalised for allowing a woman to play in the men's competition.

Casey McElroy grew up kicking the football.

"I'm one of three girls and I was always out the back with Dad doing farm work or kicking the footy so it's always been in my blood, we've always talked about it," she said.

"I've only had two years of actually playing [competitively] but they've been the best two years and I've loved every minute of it."

In her first season, McElroy won the Limestone Coast Women's Football League premiership with her Kybybolite teammates and this year she won the league's best and fairest.

But while her family are stalwarts of her hometown football club, she can't play for the Padthaway Lions because they don't have a women's team.

So when she realised there was a chance for her to pull on the blue and gold guernsey and play with the Padthaway men's reserves team a week ago, she put up her hand.

"I just wanted to play footy really, that was my thought behind it and I knew Padtho was short so I wasn't going to be taking anybody else's spot," she said.

McElroy has played in the Limestone Coast Women's League for Kybybolite Football Club. ( Supplied: Casey McElroy. Credit: Tony Lees )

"I had some great mates out there playing who I wanted to play alongside so I saw an opportunity and I took it."

It's believed she is the first woman to play in the senior men's competition in the regional Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League (KNTFL) in the state's south east.

And now she — and the club — are dealing with the consequences, with the KNTFL considering appropriate penalties for a breach of community football regulations.

McElroy plays her first, and probably last, game with the Padthaway men's reserve team. ( Supplied: Ace Coote )

Why did the club field a woman in a men's comp?

Padthaway Football Club president Mick Grady faces a weekly battle to find players. ( ABC South East SA: Isadora Bogle )

Padthaway Lions president Mick Grady started the week with a problem.

His reserves' coach told him his team was down to 12 due to injuries.

"We were pretty desperate with numbers and something had to be done," he said.

After McElroy volunteered to play, the club was told it would be breaching community football regulations in allowing her, an unregistered and unqualified player, to take part in the game.

And the club knew it wouldn't be playing for premiership points because of the breach.

After getting the okay from all the players from both teams, as well as officials, McElroy ran out.

"In the clubrooms after, everyone was so chuffed for me and they just thought it was a great moment for sport — they didn't think about the rules and regulations," she said.

"They just saw how happy I was and how happy my family was, and they got around us really well."

So why allow McElroy to play, if there would be a penalty?

Why Padthaway Lions backed McElroy to play, knowing there would be a penalty, comes down to what football means in this blink-and-you-miss-it country town.

"The club is everything in a town like Padthaway because pretty much — it's the club, a shop and a mechanics and that's it," Mr Grady said.

Padthaway is home to about 300 people. ( ABC South East SA: Isadora Bogle )

He said the decision to support McElroy was based on emotion.

"Casey's family has been involved in the club basically since the inception of the football club and with no boys, they were never going to see the next generation play … in the [club] colours."

Mr Grady said they knew they were doing the wrong thing.

"Rules are rules," he said.

"But fundamentally we did the right thing with letting her play. We're here for people to play sport."

McElroy said it was a great moment for her family.

"It was what we always dreamed of and for me to be in the same guernsey as my dad was wearing, it was pretty unreal."

A painted silo celebrating Padthaway's recent A-grade premierships is hard to miss. ( ABC South East SA: Isadora Bogle )

Waiting game

As the South Australian National Football League (SANFL)'s football operations coordinator for the south east, Michael Mourbey works with the regional leagues to ensure regulations are met.

He said the Padthaway Football Club and Casey McElroy had "placed all at serious risk of breaching the AFL's national insurance policy".

"The AFL are very clear through their policies how competitions should be structured and conducted, which is why SANFL have worked with local clubs to establish the Limestone Coast Women's Football League to provide an equal opportunity for everyone to enjoy football," he said.

Padthaway Football Club's men's reserves team during its game against Kingston. ( Supplied: Ace Coote )

While the Padthaway Lions wait to hear what their penalty will be from the KNTFL, McElroy has no regrets.