A passionate Hawthorn supporter since her brother instilled the brown and gold into her sub-conscious, the marriage between Kapalos and Hawthorn was made official when she moved to Melbourne in 2006.
After consultation and a gentle nudge from colleague and fellow Hawthorn supporter Stephen Quartermain, Kapalos decided that the Hawks were the team for her.
“It was pretty much an on-air ambush,” Kapalos joked.
“I was presented with a signed Hawks jumper and the love affair was born.
“I was new in town and I found myself going to pretty much every game and that’s been something I’ve kept up.
“I do go regularly to the games and enjoy it - it has become a really nice relationship.”
Kapalos felt embraced and welcomed by the Hawks since the opportunity to attend Hawthorn matches first arose in her first year as a Melbournian, 2006.
Consequently, the Channel 10 host has enjoyed bringing friends and family into the Hawthorn realm.
“I love taking people into the Hawthorn world to help them realise what a wonderful and unique club it is,” she said.
“It’s very much a family club on every level.
“I felt like they were my very first Melbourne family.”
As the Club’s number one ticket holder, Kapalos takes her role seriously.
Part of that role, she explained, is ensuring that all women feel comfortable immersing themselves in the community that is the AFL and its clubs.
“One thing I’d love to fulfill is to make sure that we have as many female supporters, we unearth all the existing ones that possibly haven’t had a cohesive group or membership to belong to up until now at the Hawks,” Kapalos said.
Growing up in a state dominated by NRL, Kapalos understands the difference in approaches different sporting codes take in regards to the role of women.
Kapalos says the acknowledgement the AFL has given to the role of women has improved since statistics on supporter bases were collected.
“There’s definitely been more emphasis put on women in football and the role that they play as a membership group,” she said.
“Since a lot of the statistics have been collated and we’ve realized how significant that membership is.
“There’s just no other game that I know of that there are so many women (involved) at every level.”
Kapalos believes, however, that the Respect and Responsibility policy launched by the AFL in 2005 has been one of the most important launching pads for acknowledging the involvement of women in football.
That involvement, she says, makes it even more integral for the AFL to dedicate a round acknowledging and thanking women for the role they play at all levels and across all clubs.
Kapalos too, is active in encouraging women to become involved and to support the AFL and its clubs.
“That (Respect and Responsibility policy) is really distinct, as opposed to any other sporting group that I can remember,” she said.
“I love that I can in some way help to represent the female membership base and support what the AFL is doing in terms of spreading the message about how females are perceived in the community and within the AFL.
“The respect that is being dedicated to the female membership and females in general is very important.”
Round 17 is Women's Round in the AFL.WATCH: The Hawks challenged the Melbourne Vixens to a four-on-four netball match.
