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Sam Lane
PrintPioneering broadcast journalist and author
Sam Lane is a multi award-winning journalist and author. Samantha's unique experience and reach across mainstream and social media platforms sees her as a member of the Seven Network’s AFL and AFLW broadcast team.
Speaker Categories
- AFL and AFLW Speakers
- After Dinner Speakers
- Celebrity Speakers
- Community / Social Conscience Speakers
- Conference Facilitators and Moderators
- Corporate Master of Ceremonies
- Diversity and Inclusion Speakers
- Female Motivational Speakers
- Goal Setting Speakers
- Inspirational Speakers
- Journalists and Current Affairs Speakers
- Master Of Ceremonies / MC
- Media
- Media Personalities
- Organisational Change Speakers
- Sports Speakers
Testimonials for Sam Lane
“I once joked about playing full-forward for the Western Bulldogs. At the time, that was an impossible dream for any woman. But not anymore. The AFLW has unlocked a new wave of Australian sporting heroes for young girls, where ambition to play footy is no longer inhibited by gender. Best on ground to Samantha Lane for this inspiring account of the resilience and determination it took to get the League to a national level, and showcasing the depth of talent amongst its players.”
Julia Gillard AC, 27th Prime Minister of Australia
“A powerful and timely call to arms.”
Robert Murphy, AFL Champion
Samantha shared her personal experiences with the audience whilst showing that one can achieve their dreams with persistence and taking a gamble. She was very well received by all at the event.
Gippsland Event Management
Sam was FABULOUS! She is media trained, young, enthusiastic and excellent to work with. Sam was extremely professional and sensitive to the nature of the evening. Sam provided flawless MC duties on the night as well as facilitated the Thought Leaders Panel with style. Red Letter Management would not hesitate to recommend Sam for any future events.
Red Letter Management
She was absolutely lovely and extremely professional. She had thoroughly researched the content, was well prepared and genuinely engaged and interested. You never quite know what high-profile speakers are going to be like until you meet them personally. Sam was incredibly down to earth and asked all the right questions. She was so polite and stuck around to chat to the guests. I've had nothing but amazing feedback on Sam, she was the perfect fit for our event and I truly hope to work with her again in the future.
The Launch Box
I’d just like to let you know how yesterday’s Toccolan Footy Lunch at the MCC Members Dining Room went with Sam. Sam was an absolute delight to work with. She arrived early, was well prepared and…… my god, even a folder with notes! I was impressed at her level of preparation. Sam was very professional the whole time. She was engaging, energetic and nothing seemed to be too much trouble for her. Often in these types of events, we end up flying by the seat of our pants as the event unfolds, but this didn’t faze Sam, who accommodated our every request and whim.
Toccolan Football Club
Fee Range: $5001 to $10000
Sam Lane's Biography
Sam Lane is a pioneering broadcast journalist and author. Her award-winning work spans print, television, podcast and radio.
Sam’s first book ROAR is the definitive account of the birth of the Australian Football League’s elite competition for women, published in 2018 and formally endorsed by Australia’s first woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
ROAR became part of the global movement for gender equity, diversity and inclusion, with the AFLW catalysing profound change on and off-field. Sam delivers keynote presentations on the topic, in Australia and abroad, including one at the Australian Embassy in Paris.
Sam is currently writing the story of Australian sporting luminary, Erin Phillips, due for publication in 2024.
A trailblazer on television, Sam covered men’s AFL on Channels Seven and Ten for more than 15 years. In 2013, she joined Channel Seven’s prime time Saturday night footy coverage and was part of Seven’s record-breaking broadcast of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Sam was a panellist on Channel Ten’s Before the Game for 10 years, and also featured in the ABC’s Agony Aunts series.
She has covered every season of AFL women’s since its inception in 2017 and currently hosts a weekly ABC podcast The W - with Sharni and Sam. Her journalism awards include two Melbourne Press Club Quills, a Walkley, two VicHealth awards, the AFL Players’ Association and AFL Coaches’ Association media prizes, three VicSport awards and an Australian Sports Commission media award.
As a keynote speaker, panel moderator, event MC and conference host, Sam’s clients include QBE, Virgin Australia, Mercedes Benz Australia, National Australia Bank, Sport Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, CGU, and the Sydney and Richmond AFL football clubs.
She co-hosted the Australian national speaking tour of basketball legend Luc Longley in sold-out shows through 2022, and moderated live events with Australian of the Year Adam Goodes in 2019.
Sam sits on the Australian Institute of Sport’s Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Advisory Committee, chaired by Olympic icon Ian Thorpe, and is a member of the Board of Directors of The Chappell Foundation, raising funds for homeless youth. She sits on Sydney’s AFLW steering committee and is an ambassador for Flourish Australia.
In her distinguished journalism career, Sam wrote for Melbourne’s The Age and Sunday Age, and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers for 13 years, reporting from Beijing, London, Rio and Delhi at Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
She has reported from the men’s Tour de France three times, and the landmark first women’s Tour de France in 2022 on ABC television, radio and podcast. Sam wrote and produced two series of number one-rating The Originals podcast for AFL club, Richmond, in 2020-21.
Sam speaks French, studying at the Université Michel de Montaigne in Bordeaux to complete a Diploma of Modern Languages (French), and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Melbourne.
Speaking Topics Include
Women in Media and Sports Media
‘One-out in a traditionally male-dominated domain’ – a broadcast journalist in AFL men’s. Career began on TV, print and radio straight out of university – Channel 10’s Before the Game, then to Channel 7 Saturday night footy broadcasts, The Age sport department and ABC radio. What were the roadblocks? How were they overcome? From a death threat over an article that eventually won a Melbourne Press Club Quill award.
The “Movement Bigger than Sport”: Women in Sport - game changing on and off field
The inside stories behind the birth of AFLW is the subject of my first book, ROAR – documenting the sexism, the homophobia and other roadblocks over decades and the ultimate celebration when AFLW arrived in 2017. Global rise of women in sport on field – pay and other equality battles, sexism, homophobia and other hurdles, leadership inequality.
Note: good for International Women’s week/day, corporate boardroom and corporate events, school/educational events and settings, writers festivals. Topics around diversity, inclusion, equity – Australia and global movement – on sports fields with flow-on effects in boardrooms.
Personal: Dads, Mums, Daughters
Story of an only child living in sole parent household settings. Sam lost her mum, Jane, at 10yo, moved in with her father, lifelong sports broadcaster Tim and eventually caught the sport and journalism bug and followed in his footsteps. Have been paired for events with dad to tell the story ‘he said/she said Good Weekend Two of Us-style’. Can adapt the level of detail/depth to the crowd and occasion.