However, experts fear the move risks being a mere “slap on the wrist” unless all sports address body shaming from grassroots level up.

The AFL confirmed it will suspend the club or league memberships of any social media troll found to have abused a player.

The Gold Coast Suns, in a statement late Tuesday, said the club would call out anti-social behaviour. It said it had already reported the social media users and their comments about Perkins.

Players, the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association continued today to rally behind Perkins, condemning the body shaming.

AFL legend Garry Lyon slammed the online trolls, telling Melbourne’s SEN Breakfast radio the actions of people using social media platforms to attack players were those of “gutless, spinless, cowards.”

AFL executive general manager of inclusion and social policy, Tanya Hosch, said the league would ban social media trolls if they could be identified.

Hosch said body shaming was covered under AFL’s vilification rule and had been raised as a serious concern by males and females in a review last year of the league’s rules covering vilification related to disability, appearance and sexuality.

Perkins, the popular Suns key forward, on Tuesday called out the online abuse that she received after Sunday’s Suns AFLW defeat at the hands of St Kilda.

Perkins had kicked a goal and two behinds in the match. With a minute left and the Suns four points down, she took a shot in front of goal, only for it to skew wide for a point and leave the Suns suffering their fourth defeat of the season.

After Perkins tweeted an apology to fans on Monday, some trolls responded, unleashing comments about her weight.

Griffith University sport and gender expert Dr Adele Pavlidis said it took strong athletes like Perkins, and fellow AFLW star Tayla Harris, to call out reprehensible online behaviour.

“Both Tayla Harris and Sarah Perkins are quite strong and very well-established players in the league. They were the right people to call it out. But it’s so much to deal with all this trolling, I don’t know how they do it,” she said.

“It’s a power that the AFL have to revoke membership, so that’s a good thing that they’re using it. But I don’t see any shame to the trolls in this.

“This is a great opportunity for the AFL to move forward and be more inclusive and supportive of all bodies.

“From Auskick all the way through to the elite clubs, they should be educating coaches, trainers and volunteers around the harm of fat shaming and other issues and that inclusion means bodies come in all sizes and abilities.”

Pavlidis, who has produced numerous studies on sport and attitudes to women, said her research had shown most sports could significantly improve, including female-dominated sports such as netball.

Far more action needed to be taken across all sports to address body shaming, including sport-wide bans on skinfold tests, she said.

“Netball has its issues and it’s worth them tackling this issue. Netball has very similar body shapes and sizes and there’s also a lot of whiteness.”

She said netball also had the more subtle issue of ‘compliance femininity’, which means players can play and be very athletic, but they still have to be feminine in a particular way.”

Pavlidis said her research had shown roller derby to be at the forefront of inclusion.

“Roller derby embraces a whole range of body shapes and sizes and is quite on the front foot in terms of racism and bullying. Definitely they are leading around body image – they have a message that all different bodies have a place,” she said.