Advertisment

Sport

15 September, 2022

Bomber stars light up schools

Essendon AFLW players Paige Scott and Maddy Prespakis visited Maryborough on Tuesday afternoon, taking in school visits at the Maryborough Education Centre (MEC), Highview College and St Augustine’s Primary School. Scott and Prespakis took in year...

By Michael Thompson

Essendon’s Madi Prespakis and Paige Scott address students at Maryborough Education Centre.
Essendon’s Madi Prespakis and Paige Scott address students at Maryborough Education Centre.

Essendon AFLW players Paige Scott and Maddy Prespakis visited Maryborough on Tuesday afternoon, taking in school visits at the Maryborough Education Centre (MEC), Highview College and St Augustine’s Primary School.

Scott and Prespakis took in year five and six students at MEC for a chat about their burgeoning AFLW careers, which has seen Prespakis already claim the 2020 league best and fairest, while Scott has made an early impression at Essendon, kicking six goals in her opening three games, including three in the Bombers victory against West Coast last weekend which earned her a spot in the AFLW team of the week.

The players then ran a clinic for females from year seven to 10 on the football oval, teaching them the skills of the game, including kicking and passing.

For Scott — a former MEC student, it was a homecoming of sorts, and she was thrilled to bring Bombers star Prespakis along for the ride.

“It’s a bit of a drive, so I was just happy to come up and see a bit of the countryside again. It was a bit like a homecoming,” she said.

Prespakis also took the community spirit in as she understood what it meant for Scott to return to the area that she grew up in.

“Maryborough is a beautiful part of country Victoria. It’s been good to see where people come from and understand the grassroots area that Paige came from, which was really exciting. For Paige to come back and see people she went to school with and teachers she learned from was something that made her want to give back,” she said.

Scott said that the biggest change in her time in school and her arrival in AFLW is that girls picking up a football and playing the game is the new normal.

“It’s great seeing multiple girls with a footy in their hands at lunchtime. It’s a great feeling seeing it all happen and it’s so common now. You don’t need to explain yourself as to why you are doing it, and it’s good to see girls who just want to play footy because it’s the new normal. It’s a proud feeling,” she said.

Prespakis agrees with Scott’s assessment of modern-day football in the community.

“Footy isn’t just a boys sport anymore, it’s seen as the norm for girls and boys to play footy, which is the way it should be. It’s the same as if boys want to play netball, it creates a new norm and breaks down barriers,” she said.

Scott and Prespakis pose with Maryborough Education Centre female students prior to their clinic.
Scott and Prespakis pose with Maryborough Education Centre female students prior to their clinic.
Advertisment

Most Popular