By Kath Gannaway
MARLEE Nebauer is kicking goals for girls’ footy in the Yarra Valley … and beyond.
The 14-year-old Healesville High School student, one of two girls pulling on boots for Healesville’s under-14s and a key player with the Yarra Valley Youth Girls team, has been chosen to represent Victoria in the under-16s School Sport Australia Championships.
Marlee says she has her grandmother to thank for her passion for a game that is still far from mainstream for girls.
“My nan brought me up in it,” she said. “We used to watch it all the time and I just wanted to be part of it.”
After trying Auskick she joined a girls team and at 12 was the youngest player in the league.
“When we moved to Healesville I played with the guys and this year I decided to start a girls team,” Marlee said, adding that she was told from the start it would be a battle to get enough girls interested.
“Everyone said I wouldn’t be able to do it, so I just made up my mind that I was going to do it … and I did,” she said showing the leadership she cites as one of her main strengths on and off the field.
“I can bring the team together; I’m the one who talks it up,” said Marlee who plays centre or half-forward flank.
“I have a pretty strong body, too, so I’m great at breaking through the packs.”
Marlee sold the girls team idea on the benefits of being part of a team, and breaking new ground.
“A lot of the girls were really interested in the fact that girls can have an opportunity to play footy, and I had a lot of girls who had played footy with the school,” she said.
Once training started the enthusiasm grew, word spread and Marlee had what she is proud to say is a dedicated and talented line-up.
Her own performance caught the eye of School Sport Victoria’s selectors and she made the 25-girl team after a selection process, including trials, that began in April.
She took part in the first training session with her Victorian teammates on Sunday before running onto the ground with the under-14s who claimed a massive 158-point win against Gembrook-Cockatoo.
Marlee said she was surprised when she first got news of her selection for the Victorian team and is looking forward to playing in championships against the other states.
“We go up to Canberra as a team in July and play about five games,” she said. “I can’t wait”.
