FRIDAY night’s inaugural AFL Women’s match between Carlton and Collingwood was a watershed occasion for the game and one in which Bendigo should be immensely proud of our four girls who were part of it.
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Emma Grant, Jess Kennedy, Bella Ayre (pictured post-match) and Sarah Last will forever be able to say they were part of the footballing history that was the first AFLW game played in front of a lockout crowd of more than 24,000 at Carlton’s Ikon Park.
On that, while the AFLW is a new product, how good was it to hark back to the past of footy played at a packed suburban ground.
Grant played for Collingwood, while Kennedy, Ayre and Last all lined up for Carlton, with the four players all drafted from Bendigo’s women’s football club, the Bendigo Thunder.
A fifth Thunder draftee – Hayley Trevean who was out injured – is also on Carlton’s list, certainly giving Bendigo a vested interest in the Blues, just like the old zoning days when central Victoria was their territory.
The Blues emerged victorious 7.4 (46) to 1.5 (11) in a game in which the four Thunder draftees got to showcase their talent in front of not only the lock-out crowd, but also live on Channel Seven.
Kennedy, Ayre and Last were all part of the first team to win an AFLW match, while Grant has a little place in history of her own as the first AFLW player to be forced out of the game through concussion in the second quarter after hitting her head on the ground following a high tackle. But that’s footy.
There has been tremendous hype in the lead-up to the inaugural AFLW season and back in Bendigo, what a massive boost it will have to be for the Thunder in terms of attracting players to have five who were playing with them last year now part of the new national competition.
The Bendigo Spirit has done a fantastic job over the years in ensuring their players become basketball heroes and role models for Bendigo youngsters.
And now Bendigo has the same football opportunity with AFLW players Grant, Kennedy, 18-year-old Ayre – the youngest on Carlton’s list – Last and Trevean to also provide role models to look up to and inspiration for young girls of just how far they can take their footy if they give it a go and put in the hard work to achieve their dreams.
Well done girls on your efforts for the Blues and Magpies on Friday night and good luck for the rest of the season.
Luke West – sports reporter