Brent Harvey has thrown his weight behind North Melbourne's push for an AFLW licence, saying he would love to see his daughter Lacie wear the royal blue and white stripes.
Harvey is proud of the work his club has done in over recent years in regards to women's football, including forming a partnership with the Melbourne University Women's side in 2010 and establishing the AFL's highest attended youth academies in Victoria and Tasmania.
"Everyone used to just think about the father-son rule, but now with women's football going gangbusters, we are all starting to think about the father-daughter rule, too and no one has done more for women's footy at a grass roots level than North," Harvey told The Herald Sun.
"You want the same opportunity for the girls if they chose to go down that path, and the logical thing is to play where your father played.
"Lacie loves her football. She loves the training and getting around with her friends and having a kick. She played in a mixed team last year, but Yarrambat has an under 12s girls' team this year and she is loving it. It would be incredible to see her in the royal blue and white stripes one day."
All three of Harvey's kids play football - sons Cooper, who plays with Yarrambat under 13, and Hudson, who plays Auskick, as well as daughter, Lacie.
"I think North really deserves an AFLW team considering the work that the club has put in over a long period," he said.
North managing director and chief executive Carl Dilena said the club had invested considerable time preparing for one of four AFLW licences for the 2019 season. Final submissions for the AFLW expansion in 2019 are due on Friday and the Kangaroos' trump card could come in the form of a joint venture with Tasmania.
"We have certainly been in discussions with AFL Tasmania and the Tasmanian state government around ideas and concepts for an approach to a women's team," Dilena said.
"We are still working through those ideas.There would be a real sense of Tasmania being involved and being a genuine part of the AFLW landscape if we were to be successful.
"We have plans to build specific women's training areas and change rooms and to expand our Arden Street facilities overall.
"We have been involved in women's football for some time now, through the Melbourne Uni team and the Huddle Programs. We have also made a really genuine commitment to the next generation academies - in fact 39 percent of all participants AFL-wide come from North's academies with 29 per cent in Tassie due to our ongoing work."
Dilena said the growth of women's football was exceptional in Tasmania, partly because of the Kangaroos' academies.
The number of girls and women's teams had grown from seven to 62 within the past two years, while there are now 43 youth or girls teams in the state.
"You have to grow the interest from grass roots level and that's what we've done," Dilena said.
"There is massive interest in women's footy in Tassie at the moment, and it will only get bigger with our AFLW team that potentially includes a genuine Tassie connection."