Mariah gets a kick out of girls’ footy

By Sarah Schwager
WOMEN’S AFL football is on the rise and one young local is making her way in the male-dominated sport.
Cannons Creek’s Mariah Marshall, 15, chose AFL over state-level basketball because she believed she had a greater career in footy.
Since its inception in 1980, the Victorian Women’s Football League (VWFL) has grown from four teams to 26 teams and two divisions representing 20 clubs.
Close to 1000 women pull on a guernsey in the VWFL every weekend to participate in the rapidly growing sport.
The sport has picked up just as much locally as well.
Mariah plays for Pearcedale/Baxter in the Footypak South East Youth Girls League, which formed in 2004 as the first girls’ league.
“There are so many people that come down and watch the game and support us,” she said.
“I just love the atmosphere it creates on game day.”
This year one of the teams in the league Narre Warren South has started its second team in the competition because of a growing number of players.
Mariah said she hoped to see the sport one day reach the level where games might regularly be shown on the major television stations.
Her father Hugh Marshall coaches the team, which trains once a week in Pearcedale and plays games on Saturdays at Casey Fields.
Mariah said she would love to play in the VWFL one day.
The year 10 student, who attends Elizabeth Murdoch College in Langwarrin, said she loved sport and hoped to get into sports psychology after leaving school.
She plans to keep the footy boots on during her VCE years.
For more information on the VWFL see vwfl.org.au.