On the surface, a show about Australian Rules football at the Melbourne Comedy Festival might appear to be a you-can’t-go-wrong decision. But trying to extract humour out of a subject that a large proportion of your audience is going to profess a profound knowledge of is a relatively difficult task. There is nothing worse than a comedian making fun of a subject they possess no acquaintance with, and Cal Wilson’s show succeeds because beneath the veneer of ignorance at the heart of much of the humour lies a pretty keen understanding of the game.

Wilson, a New Zealander who saw her first game of football in 2003, finds a happy medium between the potentially tedious extremes of dismissive ‘I don’t get AFL’ jokes and hardcore-supporter anecdotes. Her affection for the game is evident, but she is by no means a ‘tragic’, and consequently her observations (many of which apply to Australian culture, not just Australian Rules) come across as both fresh and un-self-conscious. One or two jokes covering well-worn terrain droop a little, but Wilson is such a likeable performer that they can be easily overlooked. Much more prominent is her energetic style, perpetually cheerful (and cheeky) manner and the successful incorporation of audio snippets throughout – mostly funny musings on the game from fans and the odd star footballer.

I admit, having seen her on ‘skitHOUSE’ and ‘Spicks and Specks’, I went into the show already a little bit in love with Cal Wilson and came out a little bit more.