In celebration of a decade-long partnership with the GIANTS, Harvey Norman is proud to spotlight community changemakers through the Harvey Norman Heroes program - individuals who go above and beyond to grow the game and make a difference in their local communities.

One such trailblazer is Rose Orr, President of the Wollondilly Junior Football Club, and the inaugural Harvey Norman Hero. 

A passionate advocate for girls’ sport, Rose is at the forefront of creating pathways for young girls to play Australian rules football in South-Western Sydney — and her impact is already being felt across the region.

“A lot of what drives me is that when I was younger, we didn’t have these opportunities,” Rose said.

“I had to play other sports - not the sport I had the passion for. Even in those sports, we had different rules, different uniforms, and didn’t get the same opportunities as the boys.”

This year, Rose made a significant impact in her local community by helping establish an under 9s girls football competition in South -Western Sydney - a turning point for many clubs, families, and aspiring young athletes in the region. 

Working closely with AFL NSW and local coordinators, she built the program from the ground up.

“We had girls in older mixed teams [at our club] but hadn’t had a standalone girls' team in five or six years. Sowe started from scratch. We talked to other clubs, collaborated, and finally, four other clubs were able to put teams together or combine squads to make it work.”

That effort resulted in six games during the back half of the regular season, and the response was incredible.

“It was amazing. The girls had the best time,” she said. 

“The amount of confidence they showed when playing in an all-girls team was huge. 

“One parent said to me how great it was to see their daughter not just standing there scared [as she does when playing with the boys in mixed teams], but she was in there and tackling and it was fantastic.

“That opportunity to play with just girls gave them so much confidence, which is amazing to see.”

Rose’s passion began when she accidentally fell into coaching after volunteering as a treasurer - and it quickly became a calling.

“I was a player at our senior club, and one year the junior club was struggling to find volunteers. I have a background in finance, so they asked me to come on as treasurer. We couldn’t find coaches that year, so I ended up coaching a team and I fell in love with coaching by accident, I suppose - that was three or four years ago.”

Fast forward to 2025, and she’s now the junior club’s president - with a clear mission: to build a proper, long-term girls’ pathway from junior levels right through to senior women's teams.

“When I took over as president, one of my big things was that we really need to create a proper girlspathway. We’ve only got one women’s team in our club at the moment, and I’d like that to increase. It’s about making sure there’s a clear path for girls to keep playing footy and ensuring our senior club has a strong women's side in the future.”

As major advocates for the growth of women’s sport — especially in Western Sydney - Harvey Norman and the GIANTS are celebrating their 10th season of partnership by giving back to the community. The Harvey Norman Heroes initiative is all about recognising local legends like Rose who are shaping the future of football from the grassroots up.

You can catch Rose’s Under 9s Girls team taking part in halftime Auskick during the upcoming GIANTS AFLW clash at Henson Park in round three.

To nominate your local hero of women’s football, click here for the chance to win prizes for your hero and your club, all thanks to Harvey Norman.