Head of Women's Football

Starting her coaching career at 17 years of age, Michelle Cowan is one of the most accomplished female football administrators in the country.

At 21, Cowan became the first female assistant in the WAFL when she was appointed midfield coach at the West Perth Football Club. After spending eight years with West Perth, she moved to South Fremantle before trying her hand at the elite level. In 2013, Cowan was appointed senior coach of Melbourne Football Club’s women’s side during the AFL’s women’s exhibition series, before being named Football Women of the Year the same year.

Cowan’s next step came in 2016 when she became the first female assistant coach in Melbourne's history, and the second in AFL history, as a player development coach for the Demons. At the start of the inaugural AFLW season, she returned home to become the head coach at Fremantle for the team’s first two seasons. Cowan joined West Coast as an assistant coach ahead of the team’s introduction to the AFLW competition and has since migrated into the Head of Women’s Football role.