By JARROD POTTER
A SOUTH EASTERN journeywoman is glad to finally find the right place to call her football home.
After going club to club in a football journey spanning nine years already, Logan O’Connell-Webb, 15, has made her base at Lyndhurst Football Club this season and has loved every moment with the Lightning.
Bringing an impressive football resume to Marriott Waters Reserve, including two league best-and-fairests playing against the boys, O’Connell-Webb notched another superb achievement on Sunday as she reached 150 junior matches.
Running through the milestone banner wasn’t the only reason for the resourceful midfielder to celebrate as her Lyndhurst side claimed a 42-point victory over Parkmore in its first ever final.
“It was the best feeling I’ve ever had – just winning in the 150th,” O’Connell-Webb said.
“I take away from that game that Lyndhurst has come a long way from where we’ve started – it’s not just about skill, it’s about gelling together as a team and really pushing yourself.
“I want to stick with Lyndhurst – I went there because it’s a new team and thought I’d go to a new team and I went there with Brown dog (Emily Browning) and we could give what we’ve learn in the girls footy to the newer players.”
Lyndhurst Youth Girls will face Cranbourne in a preliminary final on Sunday morning and the Lightning star believes her side stands every chance of winning.
“We shouldn’t take this game as if we’ve won everything, we need to keep going at it – you never know what could happen, we could win or lose against Cranny,” O’Connell-Webb said.
“I think we have more than a good shot at beating Cranny, I reckon we’ve got just as much of a shot as winning as they do.
“It would be amazing to make it (getting into a grand final).”
Lyndhurst is not the only place O’Connell-Webb has pursued her football passion this year with the 15-year-old’s plate extremely full with Vic Metro Youth Girls, South East Juniors interleague and the School Sport Victoria under-16 development team duties.
Winning a national championship with Vic Metro was one of many amazing experiences she’s received and O’Connell-Webb is always searching for the next opportunity.
“There was so much that I took away from that – every opportunity in life you have to take it, as you never know when you’re going to get it again as my mum tells me,” O’Connell-Webb said.
The AFL is something she’d love to reach one day, and along the way reach 200 junior matches, but wants the football world to step up the opportunities and provide more avenues for young women in the sport.
“I’ve always wanted to say that girls are just as capable as boys and for girls to be seen as equals they need to be given equality,” O’Connell-Webb said.
“They need to be treated as equals and need to be given the exact same opportunities and then one day we will be the same.
“Not that we’re going to be faster or stronger – but the skill level will even out and girls will be looked at as AFL players.
“It (AFL Women’s match) blew me away – I didn’t expect it to be that good – that’s what I aspire to become an AFL women’s player – but only so much can get me there and I have to do the rest for myself.”
For more on the South East Juniors results, grab a copy of this week’s Pakenham-Berwick Gazette.
