“I felt so much pressure not to stuff it up, because I didn’t want to make it harder for the women that would follow me.”
As one of the first women to broadcast AFL matches on both radio and TV, Kelli Underwood is remembering the great weight of responsibility she felt as she unexpectedly found herself forging path for women in what was then a very male-dominated industry.
Far from stuffing things up, though, Kelli created a platform for others, especially young girls who dream of carving a career as a footy commentator.
Fittingly, Kelli has been recognised for her service to broadcasting with an Order of Australia Medal in this year’s Australia Day Honours List.
Sharing her excitement in an interview with fellow ABC sports broadcaster Matt Clinch, Kelli says she accepts the OAM – and the recognition it brings – with a lot of grace and gratitude.
“It was a very unexpected honour. I guess I feel like it’s not just about me. It’s about women in sport.”
Kelli embarked on the road to radio footy commentary as a Match Day reporter for Melbourne’s 3AW before crossing over to the ABC in the early 2000s.
“When I started out there were just a couple of female boundary riders,” she says.
To be the first woman in a commentary role was incredibly daunting.
That was many seasons ago.
“Now, fifteen years later, there are three other women calling AFLW on the TV and radio,” Kelli says proudly.
A young journo from Adelaide who grew up in a sports-mad family, Kelli’s radio journey started with an internship at 5AA.
She went on to work at 5MU in Murray Bridge and K rock in Geelong, before joining 3AW, where she was the overnight newsreader.
Her life would change in the most extraordinary way when iconic footy broadcaster Rex Hunt invited Kelli to become part of 3AW’s Match Day commentary team.
“I was so young. I was so intimidated,” says Kelli.
“I still remember walking into the commentary box at the MCG. They all turned around – Rex Hunt, Mike Sheehan, Tony Shaw, Dipper (Robert DiPierdomenico) and Robert Walls, and I thought ‘What on earth am I doing here?’”
But Kelli had found her life’s true passion.
“I loved it. I loved it,” she said.
Kelli reveals that Rex recently told her he threw the idea out there in the first place because he wanted to do something different.
That, and he believed in her.
*Photo credit: ABC