Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey has received the backing of a club president and rival player after being deemed ineligible for the AFL Women's draft.
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Mouncey has been ruled ineligible for Wednesday's AFLW draft but will continue playing for Ainslie in the AFL Canberra women's competition.
Ainslie president Lee Phillips says the Tricolours are "all about inclusion" and will welcome Mouncey back with open arms despite the AFL's 11th hour decision.
It comes as Mouncey's opponent and Greater Western Sydney Giants midfielder Britt Tully called for the transgender ruck to be allowed to play at the highest level possible.
Mouncey has transitioned to a woman over the past two years and has been left in a perplexing position that denies her the chance to play with the game's best, but allows her to play at a local level.
The AFL's decision took into account the stage of maturity of the AFLW competition, its current player cohort and Mouncey's individual circumstances.
She attracted interest from several AFLW clubs having starred for the Tricolours in the Canberra competition this season.
Phillips says Mouncey has all the support she needs at Ainslie and is keen for her to don the Tricolours jumper again next season.
"We're all about inclusion at the [Ainslie Football Club], we make that quite clear in our strategic plan," Phillips said.
"Obviously we're disappointed for her. We support all our players and if she was selected in the draft we would have supported her.
"She hasn't been selected so we hope she continues to still play for us and we'll support her back at Ainslie."
The AFL has known for three months that Mouncey intended to - and then did - nominate for the AFLW draft but only handed down a verdict less than 24 hours out.
Giants and Gungahlin Jets midfielder Tully played against 190 centimetre, 100 kilogram ruck prospect Mouncey in the AFL Canberra competition this year
Tully won AFL Canberra's best and fairest award this year and can't see why the 27-year-old has been denied the chance to play.
"People will have their opinions but I think they're best off keeping that to themselves," Tully said.
"She's just played a season in Canberra so I can't see why anything should change at the elite level. You'd think it would be the other way around if it was an issue."
The AFL Players Association has called on the governing body to develop a proper policy in relation to the eligibility of transgender footballers.
The AFL follows International Olympic Committee regulations which state an athlete must prove their testosterone level is below 10 nanomoles per litre - Mouncey's latest reading was 0.5 nanomoles per litre.
Mouncey kicked 17 goals for Ainslie this year and took to Twitter to wish her "mates from Canberra" luck in the draft.
"I can't wait to see you all at the highest level and to play with and against you back in Canberra next year," Mouncey tweeted.
The 27-year-old began playing women's football this season and was keen to play at the highest level before her AFLW bid was thwarted at the 11th hour.
She was a near certainty to be picked up in the draft with a host of Victorian clubs circling, having already trialled with Melbourne.
Tully says Gungahlin were aware Mouncey was one of Ainslie's key players ahead of their clash earlier this year but they didn't fear her or focus all of their energy on stopping her.
For now, Mouncey's best chance of playing sport at the elite level comes through European handball, a game in which she has been cleared for domestic and international competition.
