World Footy News

The footy oval at the rear of Freshwater State School in Cairns is a delight. Conservatively, the eastern goals are possibly four feet higher than the western goals. Wind advantage is irrelevant. Whichever team wins the toss and kicks “downhill” gets the biggest advantage. On a good day, a kick from full back could roll through for a goal at the other end simply through inertia.

It also has a terrific “grandstand” with eager after-school care students lining their balcony to cheer on the home team. Parents mingle – some understanding the game at hand, others confused by the lack of calls for “knock-ons”, “offside”, “forward pass” or the whistle that signals a try. Such is life in a heavily Rugby League city. Though, that is changing.
The primary school girls from Freshwater State School and Gordonvale State School used the venue to play their fifth instalment of the “Women In AFL Freshwater Challenge” – a girls' footy match which began back in 2012 with girls from these two schools which had been the staple of girls primary footy for a number of years. In recent times, both girls’ teams had played the half time NAB Auskick match for the annual Gold Coast Suns v Western Bulldogs match. But those 12 minute frenzies under lights were more of an exhibition match. The Freshwater Challenge was something more – in fact the girls have played for a shield each year since 2012.

The concept is simple enough – the girls play to say thank you to the women and girls involved at so many levels in Australian Rules football – players, coaches, mums, sisters, aunties, friends, umpires, water carriers, jumper washers, administrators – the list is endless.

But this year there was just that little bit of extra incentive to perform. The fifth anniversary of the match coincided with the announcement in 2016 of the national women’s league next year. For the first time we had the wonderful opportunity to offer these girls a genuine pathway from school level to club to representative and maybe one day to the national stage.

Our Freshwater game is no more or less relevant that any other girls primary school footy match anywhere else in the nation. It might even be argued that the skills on display were raw – but the heart and courage wasn’t. The girls played for keeps. Their growing understanding of the game was there for all to watch – especially downhill.

For the record, Gordonvale won back the shield they surrendered to Freshwater last year. This was due in no small part to the game being played in three thirds of 12 minutes each – Gordy won the toss and travelled downhill twice – game, set, match.

But the crowd and the game were the real winners. Young girls watching that day saw something else to aspire to, and the older members of the crowd looked on in respectful tones at a courageous group of girls who took on something new and made it their own.

This game might be a minnow on a national stage, but for 40 minutes up in Far North Queensland these girls were the centre of the AFL universe, and deserved to be.