In the new GIANT In Their Field podcast series, GIANTS AFLW player Chloe Dalton steps away from the field to chat to women in the business of sport. 

These interviews take a deep dive into the experiences, successes and failures of women across a range of industries, to find out what it is that makes them a GIANT in their field.

GIANTS Head of Women’s Football, Briana Harvey, discusses how to re-write your own job description, running a football program through COVID-19 hubs and contingencies, and the importance of having more women in football operations, coaching and administration.

Harvey entered the sporting workforce as a sports scientist and analyst, working at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS). Throughout her career, she has been a big advocate for re-writing your own job description.

“Whilst you think it’s more work for yourself, it actually starts to bring in the things that interest you and that you want to develop in,” Harvey said.

She then became the High Performance Manager for the AFL’s Umpiring department, “It was almost like the 19th football team – we tried to sell it like that which didn’t always work,” she laughs while describing.

“We’d have what you would have in a normal football department – coaches, strength and conditioning, nutrition, physios.”

Next was experience in the Academy and Women’s Football and Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans, before moving into a similar role at the GIANTS.

Dubbed the ‘queen’ of the Women’s football program by players and staff alike, Harvey is not only effective and efficient in her role, she has a unique level of care for the people within the program.

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GIANT in their Field: Ep 2 Bri Harvey

In the second podcast of the series, Chloe sits down with Briana Harvey. Bri joined the GIANTS in 2019 as the club's Head of AFLW and Academies. In 2021, she took over the role of Head of Women's Football.

What drives her is the “sense of making positive change to other people’s lives, whether or not it’s athletes or staff, and the fact that I have the ability to do that.” 

For the future of the women’s game, Harvey hopes for players and staff to be given the opportunity to make a career out of football.

“I think there’s a real push for it to be full-time, but full-time can look different to the men’s... I think it’s really critically important for the women’s game to ensure that there’s a balance, so that players can continue with their careers or study or whatever that might be.”