They came from far and wide to play a bit of footy.
Female Football Gippsland took a page from the AFL’s book and ran a gather round last Sunday, June 4, for a jam-packed day of footy at the Morwell Recreational Reserve.
Round 6 of the Gippsland women’s competition saw ten games played over two ovals, with even Auskick at halftime during the two women’s matches.
The day was a buzz with families enjoying a nice pie or coffee at the canteen and some great action in the Valley’s own female footy festival.
Female Football Gippsland ran the event in conjunction with AFL Gippsland and AFL Victoria to celebrate Gippsland’s women’s football.
To kick things off at the main oval at 9am when the Churchill Youth Girls took on Boisdale- Briagolong. The Bombers took charge right away and ran away with a 72-point victory.
Traralgon Youth Girls and Woodside battled it out on the synthetic oval. The Maroons were too strong for the Wildcats, booting 13.18 (96) to Woodside’s 1.3 (9). Traralgon’s best were Elaina Domagala, Emily McGovern, Olivia Ambler, Hayley Kamphuus, Emily Birney and Ashlyn Murtagh, while Woodside’s key players were Grace Dillow, Kiera Walpole, Krista Walpole, Tennille Leadoux, Taliah Frost and Esther Hinkley.
Next up on the main oval was the Moe Youth Girls against the Warragul Industrials, who kicked off at 10.30am. The wind wasn’t Moe’s friend on Sunday, as they found it difficult to score. Industrial’s ran away with the 5.5 (35) to nothing win.
At the same time, it was one-way traffic on the synthetic ground, the Bairnsdale Youth Girls dominated Drouin, winning 24.17 (161) to 4.0 (24). Bairnsdale’s Lucy Carroll had a day out, kicking a bag of 11. Among the Redlegs’ best were Carroll, Zoe Cotter, Sophie Hamilton, Jasmin O’Connor, Evelyn Gudgin and Lydia Gudgin. While standouts for Drouin were Savanah Staunton, Taliah Erhardt, Isabella Vouden, Chelsea Molloy, Ella Duncan and Hayley Rose.
Bunyip’s youth side took on Korumburra on the main stage at midday in a scrap the Bulldogs took away the chocolates 2.7 (19) to 0.4 (4). Best on for Bunyip was Bonnie Carkeek, Tameka Schroen, Holly Carlsen, Sienna Arbon, Bella Rowe and Serena Jordan.
Sale City played Dalyston on the fake grass in a thriller. Both teams were well matched, scores were pretty close during the game, but you can’t beat the girls of the Bulldogs breed who got over the line in the end, 7.11 (53) to 4.3 (27).
The first women’s match started at 1:30pm as the dominant Boisdale-Briagolong locked horns with Drouin. After a close first quarter at 1.1 (7) all, the footy went all the Bombers’ way after quarter time, going into halftime with a 16-point lead. Boisdale-Briagolong impressed more as they progressed further into the match. Conceding only one singular point while adding to their score to go home with a 50-point win.
Morwell’s youth girls played valiantly against their Phillip Island rivals, but it wasn’t meant to be for the young Morwell team going down 2.5 (17) to 3.4 (22).
In the last Youth Girls match, the Newborough bulldogs showed their bite in a dominant display of footy, booting 16.8 (104), with Nar Nar Goon only scoring two late points in the last term.
The stage was set for the Moe/Newborough Allies and Lindenow South to go head to head in the last match to bookend a fun-filled and entertaining day of footy. The teams came out hot, with a tightly contested footy it was going to be a dog fight. With five minutes gone, one Allies player went down with what appeared to be a nasty ankle injury and was helped off the ground. In a matter of mere moments, another player, this time from the Swampies, hit the deck with a suspected knee and hip injury. The game was up in the air as the player was attended to on the ground. The crowd waited for news, but the ambulance arrived too late for the game to resume, and there was no result.
Louie Patten Moe/Newborough’s Women’s coach, despite not being able to play out a complete game, said the day was a great success.
“It’s a great idea to get all the teams together for one big day of footy to help promote girl’s and women’s football for the region,” she said.
Patten said the Gather Round rung in larger than-normal crowds and brought the local footy community closer together.
Oakleigh Riley from Churchill’s youth girls’ side said how fun the event was, as she sayed for the whole day to catch all the footy action.
“It’s great exposure for the girls, and it was a bit of fun,” she said.
Based on Sunday’s success, perhaps Female Football Gippsland will do what the AFL did and make Gather Round an annual occurrence in the future.
Cameron McPhan the Region Manager of AFL Victoria Gippsland said, “It was a fantastic day and a really great opportunity to get the whole league together and play in front of a strong crowd. Days like that are rare and our best way to give some recognition to the players and volunteers who put in the tireless hours in getting female football going in Gippsland.”
