Natalie Korinfsky stood “up to the blokes” at her football club.

Now the president of the Wedge-Tailed Eagles – formerly known as the Kyneton Women’s Football Club – is running for Victorian parliament at a time when poor behaviour in sport is in the national spotlight.

Korinfsky led a high-profile battle for the Kyneton women’s right to play after they defected from their previous club following claims over inequitable treatment and disrespectful conditions.

She has announced her candidacy in the upcoming state election for the Animal Justice Party in the seat of Macedon, which is held for Labor by retiring health minister Mary-Anne Thomas.

Animal Justice MP and lead candidate for Northern Victoria Georgie Purcell announced Korinfsky’s candidacy after Sydney handed down season-ending suspensions to five players for breaching the AFL club’s behavioural standards, for being out late, drinking and bringing women back to the team hotel while in Melbourne for a match against Essendon.

Swans star Isaac Heeney is the focus of a separate investigation by Victoria Police’s sexual crimes squad. It involves an allegation of touching beyond what was agreed.

The suspended players – Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon – have issued a statement apologising for breaching the Swans’ standards. But according to a source with knowledge of their position they have denied criminal wrongdoing.

The embattled Swans are now facing a public reckoning around their culture and there is broader scrutiny around the treatment of women in the AFL.

Purcell, who has been a prominent voice on women’s rights and against sexism herself, said Korinfsky’s decision to stand for parliament could not be more important.

“For Natalie and her team of incredible women to not only stand up to the blokes at their club - but also the boys club that is the AFL - is nothing short of inspiring,” she said.

“These are exactly the type of people that we need to see elected to our halls of power.

“That is why Natalie running for parliament matters. We need people with lived experience of these environments at the table when laws are made to ensure that women’s safety isn’t just a buzz word.

“Women shouldn’t have to fight this hard just to be heard. But when they do, we need to make sure they are given a seat at the table.”

Korinfsky told this masthead she would draw on her experiences in combatting discrimination in grassroots sports, focusing on standing up for those whose voices are often overlooked.

Like many others, she added, she felt disheartened by the major parties for the upcoming election in November and wanted to bring more compassion to politics.

“It’s probably something I never imagined doing,” she said. “With the state of politics, I think sometimes you just have to do things that are a little bit scary to try and enact some change.”

Korinfsky is a social worker with experience in youth mental health and disability support, and has recently worked for Omnia Community Health, running programs to keep young people in education. She also wants to improve the state of community sporting facilities in Macedon.

She will be running against Labor candidate Annette Death and former Macedon Ranges mayor Kate Kendall, who will represent the Liberals.

While she did not comment specifically on the Swans, Korinfsky said it was important to see strong leadership from the AFL and other sports, to encourage systematic change.

“We’re not seeing our big sporting organisations and our government really come down on gender-based violence and sexism, misogyny,” she said.

“Then how do we expect our sporting clubs on the ground to really know what to do?”

Purcell said if re-elected to parliament, the Animal Justice Party wanted to establish a state parliamentary inquiry into equity and inclusion in sport, and hear from communities about their experiences in sport, “whether that be sexism, homophobia, transphobia or racism”.

Purcell was a vocal supporter of the Wedge-Tailed Eagles during their search for a league to play in, after the breakaway team’s application to the Central Victorian league was initially blocked by their former league, Riddell.

In February, this masthead revealed that the vice-president of the Riddell District Football Netball League, Andrew Power, had resigned following a series of questions from The Age to the league about vulgar comments Power had left on the women’s team’s Instagram page.

Shortly after, the AFL announced Kyneton Women’s Football Club could play in the Central Victorian Football League this season after 12 months in limbo under their new name, the Wedge-Tailed Eagles.

When Purcell extended her support, she said she heard from many women from other sporting clubs in similar predicaments.

“Obviously, the Wedgies really set a standard and were incredibly brave and put their faces to it. But the reality is, so many people are afraid to even speak out, and we need to provide that forum for people to do so safely and perhaps confidentially to address this really serious and systemic problem,” she said.