Moana Hope

Moana Hope is a powerhouse of football and a former professional Australian rules footballer. Moana played in the AFL Women’s competition from 2017 to 2019, at Collingwood and at North Melbourne. She is a household name in Australia having been featured on Australian Story, alongside fellow player Susan Alberti. Moana has a tremendous story which is full of adversity, success, and breaking down stereotypes.

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Moanna Hope was just 16 when she first pulled on the jumper for Victoria in a Senior Representative game, which culminated in All Australian selection.

Representing Darebin, St Kilda Sharks, and Melbourne University Football Clubs at local level, Moana has also pulled on the Big V on numerous occasions, Australian jumper, and Western Bulldogs colours in the AFL Exhibition Games.

A dynamic forward, Moana has patrolled the forward fifty for over 10 years and has amassed large hauls of goals throughout the seasons. He hauls include 74 goals in 2006, 67 goals in 2007, 71 goals in 2008, 40 goals in 2012, 87 goals in 2014, 68 goals in 2015 and cracked 100 goals in 2016.

Moanna shared her passion for football with her late father, Gary, however, this wasn’t always the case. While in her early twenties she took a few years break from the game before rediscovering the love in 2014 having observed the changing landscape of Women’s Football in Australia.

With Womens Football participation at an all time high since the commencement of the AFLW, Moana took her goal kicking prowess from suburban grounds to the big stage, representing the biggest sporting club in Australia, Collingwood for two seasons before moving to North Melbourne for a further season.

Since the AFL Womens Exhibition Game in September 2016 where Moana starred for the Western Bulldogs in there win against Melbourne, kicking 6 goals, the interest in Moana and her journey has been amazing. Especially as this game featured less than a week after the episode of Australian Story which focused on the lives of Moana and Susan Alberti, which many football and non football followers were drawn too. This resulted in Moana speaking at quite a number of functions, plus signing sponsorship agreements with companies such as NIKE, Bonds, Gameday Mouthguard’s, Special K, Remedy Kombucha, Herald Sun, NAB, McDonalds, and Myer to name a few.

In addition to this, Moana released her own biography ‘My Way’ on Mothers Day 2017, plus she has been the face of various campaigns for leading Australian and International Brands. Whilst her life has changed, and people now stop her in the street to have a chat and wish her luck, her love for her family and football will always continue to be most important to her. This now includes her wife, Isabella Carlstrom, whom she married in a romantic ceremony in 2019 before being whisked off to film Channel 10’s Survivor “All Star” where she finished third. This was the second time she had featured on the show after contesting the “Champions v Contenders” series the year before.

Moana is the full time carer of her beautiful sister, Vinny, and runs a successful Traffic Management Company. In addition to this, Moana and Isabella also welcomed their first child, daughter Svea in November 2020.