Sport
11 June, 2022
Lily on the rise in AFL
TOOGOOLAWAH State High School student Lily Eggleston is taking giant strides in AFL, as she hopes to play in the AFLW some day.
Lily (pictured) was among a group of young Somerset residents to receive a Somerset Excellence Bursary through the Somerset Regional Council (SRC).
The $100 cheque covered part of Lily’s fees for attending the Queensland School Sport State Championships for AFL girls 13 to 15 years, from May 26 to 29.
The Toogoolawah community also supported Lily, with the Exchange Hotel (Toogoolawah) holding a raffle night where $550 was raised, and went towards the cost of uniforms and travel.
Lily took part in trials at the Toowoomba-based Concordia College in early March, and was selected for the Darling Downs team which had weekly training in Toowoomba.
Day one of the championships was cancelled due to wet conditions at the Hervey Bay venue, before Lily kicked two behinds in a shortened game against Capricornia on day two.
The competition shifted to Bundaberg the following day for play on a drier oval, before returning to Hervey Bay for the final day.
Darling Downs finished in ninth place, having beaten Capricornia before losing to Peninsula and Wide Bay.
This was Lily’s second year of representing Darling Downs in the state championships, having attended last year’s 10 to 12 years girls competition in Cairns.
Lily’s mum Kirsty said Lily would also like to trial for the team in 2023.
“Short term goals are to continue to improve on her fundamental AFL skills,” Kirsty said.
“She is doing this not only through training and game experience at both the club and regional school sport competitions, but also through programs specifically focused on skill improvement.
“She attended a two-day Enhanced Football program during the April school holidays where current AFLW Brisbane Lions player Belle Dawes was one of the coaching staff.
“(Belle Dawes is) someone she admires and aspires to have the ability to play like some day.”
In grade 7 last year, Lily won the Val Krisanski Memorial Sportswoman of the Year Award for Toogoolawah State High School.
Lily was the swimming, cross country and athletics age champion at school, and runner-up age champion at Lockyer Zone cross country and athletics.
Lily has again achieved strong results in swimming and cross country this year, but AFL remains her first love.
Lily’s weekends are largely dedicated to AFL as she plays club football, and sometimes attends matches at the Gabba to cheer on the Brisbane Lions women’s and men’s teams.
Lily first played for the Brisbane Valley Rattlers as a 10-year-old in a mixed girls and boys team in 2019, before playing in the first all-female Rattlers team in 2020.
Seeking further opportunities, Lily transferred to the Sherwood Magpies and was in their Brisbane South Division 2 U13 grand final victory last year. It was the first Sherwood Magpies female team to win a premiership, before the Sherwood senior women’s team won its grand final the following day.
Lily kicked five goals in a match against Mt Gravatt earlier this year, and was named player of the week.
Lily hopes to play in another U13 finals series this year, before stepping up to U15s next year.
“Another short term goal is that she would like to have the opportunity to be a part of the Brisbane Lions Academy,” Kirsty said.
“Their regional managers scout talented youth players at club and school games (such as the state championships in Hervey Bay) and invitees attend a three-month training and education development program that helps further grow the skills of young players.”
Kirsty said a longer term goal for her daughter was playing senior AFL, with the Sherwood Magpies senior women being part of the QAFLW competition.
“The club now has a full pathway for juniors through to youth and senior females playing at the higher level AFL, and that is something Lily is aspiring to achieve in the years to come,” Kirsty said.
Meanwhile, Lily thanked the SRC for its financial contribution through the excellence bursary program.
