Meet Stella, a Year 5 student, as she shares her enthusiasm for playing AFL football.
Beginnings
I started playing football when I was five., My early memories were of cold Auskick mornings, footy cards, watching the Sydney Swans and spending weekends watching my older brother and sisters play footy.
Footy was a big hobby for me in lockdown, especially while walking to the shops and playing on the way. I used to go every day and kick with my dad. He taught me how to kick and the rules of the game.
In Grade 2 I got to play proper footy with the Port Colts Football Club, and that’s when I started to love the game. AFL very quickly became my favourite sport and has been ever since.
I play in the 5A team for Grimwade House each week, and for the Colts on a Sunday morning.
Cordner Eggleston Cup
On Friday 24 May a Grimwade House team played at the Cordner Eggleston Cup match. Students from Years 5 and 6 tried out for the team and a lucky 23 got selected. We were so excited! The game was played on the main Scotch oval, as we were the curtain raiser for the Senior’s Cup.
When I found out I was in the team, I felt ecstatic and so excited to be representing the school. I was also very proud to be one of the four girls on the field. It was a great day with many highlights. I loved playing with my friends in front of a noisy crowd on the amazing Scotch oval. We then got to watch the main match and feel part of the amazing atmosphere.
Future ambitions
In 2008 there was another game played between students from Grimwade House and Scotch College at the Cordner Eggleston Cup match. It was played at the MCG. One of the players was Ed Langdon (OM 2014) who is now an AFL star and premiership winner for the Melbourne Football Club.
Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to be a AFLW player. Knowing this about Ed Langdon has inspired me to dream big and showed me what you can achieve.
About the Cordner Eggleston Cup
The annual match between the First XVIII teams of Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College commemorates their historic football rivalry. They played their first game in 1858 at the MCG and this is recognised as the first recorded Australian rules football match. Playing almost annually since then, the naming of the match and the Cordner Eggleston Cup trophy was introduced in 1989.
In 2001, to celebrate Scotch College’s 150th anniversary, the match returned to the MCG, with a halftime game between primary school students from both schools. In 2008, as part of Melbourne Grammar’s Sesquicentenary, the MCG hosted the match again with a curtain raiser featuring Grimwade House and Scotch students.
In 2024, at the 166th match between the schools, Melbourne Grammar School won the Cordner Eggleston Cup with the winning goal kicked after the final siren.
