By JARROD POTTER
IT’S BEEN a hectic football year already for Cranbourne Football Club midfielder Courtney Jones.
Jones, 14, from Carrum Downs, had her football world drastically expanded this year as she started appearing for more than just her beloved Eagles team.
She’ll remember 2015 as the year she stepped up to the state ranks and became a national champion.
Her efforts helped shape Vic Metro’s Youth Girls national championship triumph and Jones can also reminisce on her gutsy performance in the South East Juniors interleague campaign with the Demons just pipped at the final post in the Youth Girls final by Yarra JFL.
But there’s still one more team Jones will feature in this season – the School Sport Victoria (SSV) under-16 schoolgirls side.
Jones will bring her hard-edged approach to footy to the SSV side, battling for one more national championship to add to a burgeoning football resume.
It is an amazing amount of football to digest – especially as this is the first year it all clicked into place for the dominant midfielder.
“I didn’t realise there were state teams and everything like that before this year,” Jones said.
“Just being able to get into those sides and really knowing that I can play footy and I can be good at what I do is really good.”
All this at 14 years old makes for a lot of footy – which the St Peter’s College student aptly described as “tiring” – but she wouldn’t trade her latest selection for any amount of rest or relaxation.
“I felt really happy and really surprised as well at the same time to make the team,” Jones said.
“There were a lot of good players out there – good girls who were doing so well.
“I’d like to win again – that’s for sure – and just being able to bond with a new group of girls and being able to get a better knowledge of footy and just improving on every aspect of the game possible.”
Whether in the midfield – streaming up the ground, taking on the defence and booting some monster kicks up the centre – down back or in the forward line, all that matters is being on the park.
“I like playing forward as well and my coaches tell me I always do well in the midfield,” Jones said. “I don’t really care as long as I get to play, that’s really it.”
She encouraged any girls interested in pursuing the oval ball code to give it a try as football has plenty of chances for them to shine.
“All those younger girls out there – if you’re interested in it there are a lot of opportunities out there and just go for it,” Jones said.
Jones will head down the Princes Highway later this week as the SSV’s under-16 campaign runs in Geelong from 18-25 July.
