Moana Hope takes another dig at Mick Malthouse

Moana Hope says Mick Malthouse and other knockers of the AFLW will be in the back of her mind every time she kicks a goal next season.

Hope clashed with the AFL coaching great in September over his views on women’s football.

Malthouse had aired his thoughts alongside Hope and Jason Akermanis, with the women’s footy star walking out in disgust and later labelling the ocomments ‘degrading and disrespectful’.

Now, less than a month later, Hope has revealed the impact of Malthouse’s comments on her motivation for the upcoming season with North Melbourne.

“He’s very, very old school and for me AFLW will speak for itself,” she said.

“The bigger and better it gets, every goal I kick will not only be an amazing team effort, but bittersweet.

“It wasn’t a stance to get a reaction. I don’t care if people do or don’t agree with me.

“The amount of people who have messaged me, people in the room who have messaged me and parents who have contacted me, that’s for them.”

The aftermath to their Ballarat function quickly became a war of words.

“We’re in 2018, not in 1942. I’ve been told he was an amazing coach but I don’t think he’s much as a person,” Hope told News Corp.

“I will never be in the same room as him again.”

She had accused Malthouse of saying AFL players should ‘wear skirts’ if the league introduces netball-like zones.

Akermanis, the third member of the panel moderated by Malthouse’s daughter and long-time journalist Christi, offered his version of events the following morning.

“Christi said ‘what do you think of women’s footy?’ and Mick has gone ‘I don’t like it, I hate it the way it is’,” Akermanis told SEN radio.

“Then he suggested perhaps they change the rules, take out tackling, and gave really valid points at some level. Poor Mo got on the mic and said ‘I couldn’t disagree more about what you said’, which is fine.

“Mick sort of said if it (the AFL) goes 6-6-6 it’s going to be like netball and someone in the crowd said she just screwed her nose up.

“He was bagging the AFL, he didn’t like the 18-metre rule for the goal square.

“We were nearly finished and then I look over and she has put the mic down on the stool, walked past us, walked past the table in front of the stage, grabbed a coke and walked out.”

Hope became one of the faces of the AFLW when she joined Collingwood for the inaugural season.

Akermanis felt her decision to walk out, instead of engaging in a discussion, was regrettable and showed a lack of practice in such public situations.

“I thought her (Hope’s) reaction was one of someone who is quite inexperienced to have people on stage that will give you a different opinion that you’re probably not going to like,” he said.

“We have all done it, all been there. Mick is a great human being, so to attack Mick on a personal level is probably a bit strong.”

Malthouse had responded to the drama on Thursday night, saying Hope tuned in and out and misinterpreted his position.

“If she cared to listen instead of looking at her phone for most of the event, she would understand,” the premiership-winning coach told AFL.com.au.

“Apparently she’s had a crack at me in terms of what I said about netball.

“(I was saying) the new rules are similar to netball, in other words, positioning. Not one word about female football, females or anything else.

“Unfortunately, she came with that attitude, she was very disappointing as far as I’m concerned on the panel. Had she listened, she would’ve been a little bit wiser.”