(CNN) It is a picture which has been described as showing a "great athlete at her most powerful." Tayla Harris, a star forward for the Australian Football League women's side Carlton is captured in the air having kicked the first goal of the game in a match between her side, the Blues, and Western Bulldogs.

The picture of the 21-year-old was posted on Australian broadcaster Channel Seven's AFL Facebook page, but what followed has become all too familiar -- "repulsive" comments of a sexual nature posted by trolls which have left the athlete herself saying she felt she had been "sexually abused" on social media.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called those responsible "cowardly grubs."

Speaking to reporters in Melbourne Thursday, he said: "I think they're grubs. I think they're cowardly grubs, who need to wake up to themselves.

"Trolls on social media, they're nothing new these days, sadly, but I think what's horrible is those trolls tend to target women and they tend to be the target for an inordinate share of the abuse that happens online.

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