Grant following in father’s footsteps
FOR 17-year-old Isabella Grant, the path to football has been a little bit different with a big interest in basketball shaping a lot of her junior sporting journey, while her father Chris Grant played 341 games for Western Bulldogs over a 17-year period. “I initially played basketball for the majority of my primary school and […]
Horne opts for big switch
LIKE a number of other burgeoning AFL Women’s athletes, Emma Horne came across from another sport having not played Aussie Rules as a junior. While soccer took up plenty of her time, it was Australian rules football that caught her eye. While many NAB League players were scouted from another club, Horne got her start […]
Former basketballer soaring to new heights
MOLLY Denahy Maloney is one of a number of dual sport athletes who found love for Australian rules football and has run with it ever since. The 180cm Sandringham Dragons draft prospect started the year determined to improve her kicking skills and play as well as she possibly could. By year’s end, Denahy Maloney made […]
From a break to a break open VFLW game; Brett rises in football landscape
AFTER having time off from the game due to a limited female football pathway, it would have been hard for Murray Bushrangers star Teagan Brett to picture herself booting three goals on debut for Richmond’s Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s side in the Tigers’ massive win over Carlton a few weeks ago. The tough midfielder […]
Social aspect a bonus for driven Molan
FOR Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels captain Sophie Molan, this year has held a lot more promise and excitement than any 18-year-old Ballarat native would expect. With expectations only of playing for Vic Country in the AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships and “having a go at the draft”, Molan has exceeded her own expectations with […]
Georgie Prespakis wins NAB League Girls Best and Fairest
THE Calder Cannons claimed their third consecutive Best and Fairest with Georgie Prespakis winning the award with 20 votes. At only 16, Prespakis still has plenty of time to develop and fine tune her already impressive skill set averaging 23 disposals and six tackles throughout the 2019 season. Although she was not there to receive […]
Physical side of footy attracts Van Oosterwijck to game
REGULARLY getting fouled out in basketball told Amelia Van Oosterwijck that perhaps she needed a change of sporting scenery. While the tenacious runner enjoyed watching Australian rules football on the television, she never thought she would involve herself to the point that she would run out representing her state at the 2019 AFL Women’s Under-18 […]
Consistency the key for Sansonetti
WHILE others travel far and wide, come into the game late, or are poached from other sports, Sarah Sansonetti has enjoyed a much more linear path on her footballing journey. The Northern Knights key defender traded the monkey bars and slides for a kick of the footy during breaks at school after her dad introduced […]
Gutknecht makes the step up
CAST your mind back to April 2018; Round 7 of the them-named TAC Cup, Northern Knights against Bendigo Pioneers, the true arrival of Britney Gutknecht. Having donned the navy, black and white in every game of her middle-age year to that point, the shrewd small forward booted seven goals in a starring performance as the […]
Former netballer Purcell take rapid rise in her stride
THERE have been plenty of impressive performers that have picked up the oblong ball after testing themselves with a round one, and Sandringham Dragons’ Marguerite Purcell is no different. The former netballer played in a premiership with Caulfield Grammar in 2018, and became a staple of the Dragons’ midfield in 2019. The speedy winger showed […]
