‘You do get comments’: the Australian women making US gridiron history | Kate Allman

They are among the first to play in the women's equivalent of the NFL and hope some day there will be monetary reward

An oval-shaped ball is flung backwards, spinning from the backside of a line of muscle-bound legs. Chaos ensues. Helmets clash and bodies writhe against each other. Painted white grass splays out under grinding boots. A quarterback catches the football and sidesteps away. She surveys the scene, taking stock of the anarchy, then heaves the ball forwards to a receiver grappling for airspace.

This is American football, and there is an increasing number of women not only playing it but slaying it.