Book excerpt: To celebrate the first-ever elite women’s competition, A Footy Girl’s Guide to the Stars of 2017 showcases some of the key players to look out for, and reveals how they made it to the top of the women’s game. Players profiled include: Daisy Pearce, Emma King, Katie Brennan, Darcy Vescio, Maddy Collier, Kara Donnellan, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Erin Phillips. What age did they start playing footy? What do they love about the game? Who are their role models? What are their greatest talents as players? Find out the answers to these questions and more. Filled with inspirational stories and fun facts, A Footy Girl’s Guide is an essential read for aspiring footy stars of the future – and all kids who love their AFL. Nicole Hayes’s debut release, The Whole of My World (2013), is a Young Adult novel and the first “footy novel” to feature a teenage girl. It was longlisted for the 2014 Gold Inky and shortlisted for the 2014 YABBAs. Her second novel, One True Thing (2015), was awarded the 2015 Children’s Peace Literature Award. She bleeds Brown and Gold, which you’d know if you followed her on Twitter: @nichmelbourne. Alicia Sometimes is an Australian writer, poet and broadcaster. She is a regular guest on ABC 774 and Radio National. She has appeared on ABC TV's Sunday Arts and ABC News Breakfast. She was a 2014 Fellow at the State Library of Victoria and was writer and director of the science-poetry show, Elemental. Alicia has two poetry collections, kissing the curve and Soundtrack and her poems have been in Best Australian Poems, Overland, Southerly, Westerly and many more. She has performed her spoken word at many venues, festivals and events around the world. Alicia has co-edited From the Outer (Black Inc, 2016) alongside Nicole Hayes. She is also one-sixth of The Outer Sanctum.