Naive is a word no one would associate with Peggy O’Neal, except perhaps the woman herself - albeit eight years ago, when she became president of the Richmond Football Club. O’Neal was already the first female board member in the club’s history, but admits she simply didn’t recognise the significance of becoming the first female figurehead in AFL clubland - or the backlash it would spark.

Fast-forward almost a decade and O’Neal’s incredibly successful time at the helm of the club - an era that has produced three premierships and more than 100,000 members joining five years in a row - comes to an end this season. 

Sunday’s match against Hawthorn is O'Neal's final time hosting an AFL president’s function and she spoke with senior writer Konrad Marshall in advance, about sexism and racism and mind games, but also her origin story, including getting her professional start as the first female lawyer at a top firm in Charleston, South Carolina. 

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