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Naive is a word no one would associate with Peggy O\\u2019Neal, except perhaps the woman herself - albeit eight years ago, when she became president of the Richmond Football Club. O\\u2019Neal was already the first female board member in the club\\u2019s history, but admits she simply didn\\u2019t recognise the significance of becoming the first female figurehead in AFL clubland -\\xa0or the backlash it would spark.

Fast-forward almost a decade and O\\u2019Neal\\u2019s incredibly successful time at the helm of the club - an era that has produced three premierships and more than 100,000 members joining five years in a row -\\xa0comes to an end this season.\\xa0

Sunday\\u2019s match against Hawthorn is O\'Neal\'s\\xa0final time hosting an AFL president\\u2019s function and she\\xa0spoke with senior writer Konrad Marshall in advance, about sexism and racism and mind games, but also her origin story, including getting her professional start as the first female lawyer at a top firm in Charleston, South Carolina.\\xa0

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