CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Ms BRISKEY (Maribyrnong) (10:28): It's the middle of August, and that means one thing in my community: footy finals—in particular, the Essendon District Football League junior grand finals. Last weekend, nine clubs from across my electorate played in the EDFL grand final day. Of the 35 matches played, 28 of them featured one or both clubs from my community, so of course I want to celebrate that on the record.
Strathmore Football Club took out a whopping five of them: the under-12 girls, the under-12s mixed, the under-14 girls, the under-14s mixed and the under-16 boys in division 2. Aberfeldie Sports Club won four flags across the under-10s mixed, the under-14s mixed and two divisions of under-16 boys. Oak Park Football Club won three flags in the under-10 mixed while making history with the under-12 girls and under-16 girls in division 3.
They became the first junior girls team to win premierships for the club. Maribyrnong Football Club took out the under-12 mixed and the under-16s division 1. There were flags for the Moonee Valley FC in the under-10 girls, the Essendon Doutton Stars Football Club in the under-10s and the Tullamarine FC in the under-14 girls.
Eight of those grand finals were played between two of our own local clubs, which means that a fair bit of what I've just read out was another local club's disappointing afternoon, and I'm not going to skip past that point. Ascot Vale Panthers Football Club, the Airport West Football Club Eagles and Avondale Heights Football Club were all runners up on the day.
Two sides lost by a single point. Aberfeldie beat Moonee Valley at 21 to 20 in the under-10s, and the Essendon Doutton Stars went down to St Albans in the under-14s at 46 to 45. If you've ever stood on the boundary line watching a 13-year old work out what one point means, you know exactly how long that drive home was.
They played a whole season to get there though, and that counts, and it's worth celebrating despite the result. All of these clubs run on the parents who run the canteen and who volunteer on the sidelines of the ground on a Friday night, the coaches training twice a week after a full day's work and the committee members chasing sponsorships and making sure the rosters are done.
They all play a central role as part of that. As a parent of kids who love their sport, we ride the wave just as much as they do. So, to all the parents, the grandparents and the carers who volunteer and keep our local clubs running, thank you for all the incredible work that you do.
There are many more finals to be played out across my community, and I look forward to getting down to watch many more of my local clubs lift that silverware. All the very best.