Sport
15 June, 2023
Toogoolawah duo on song at AFL championship
Toogoolawah teens Lily Eggleston and Grace Jardine continued their AFL representative careers as they played for the Darling Downs 13 to 15 years girls team in the recent Queensland School Sport State Championships at Springfield.
Lily and Grace said they were happy with their form and were pleased to have the opportunity, with Lily earning a player-of-the-match award in the match against Wide Bay.
Darling Downs put in competitive showings in its four games, with a tight loss to Capricornia followed by defeats to Metropolitan North, South Coast and Wide Bay.
The Toogoolawah duo spent most of the time in the midfield although Grace also spent some time in the backs, with the two girls having a good understanding of each other’s games due to their history of playing together.
Lily and Grace also played for the same representative team last year, when Darling Downs had one win and two losses after day one was washed out.
Grace also played for the Darling Downs 13 to 15 years girls team the previous year while Lily played for the 10 to 12 years girls team.
In junior AFL, the two Toogoolawah girls played together for the Fernvale-based Brisbane Valley Rattlers for a couple of years before Grace joined the South Toowoomba Bombers, while Lily joined the Sherwood Magpies.
Grace has played for the Bombers U14.5 mixed team this year while Lily has played for the Magpies U15 girls. Lily recently played her 50th club game.
While the state championships have been played on a full-sized field for the 13 to 15 years teams, this year has been the first in club football that Lily has played on a full-sized field.
Grace meanwhile has been accustomed to playing on a full-sized field for the past three years.
With their AFL representative commitments over for this year, Grace and Lily are awaiting to see if they gain a position in the Brisbane Lions Academy after having the opportunity in recent years.
With Grace turning 16 next year, she said she remained undecided about future AFL pursuits as she was also involved in other sports.
Lily said she intended to continue with AFL, and would be eligible for the Darling Downs 13 to 15 years girls team for one more year.
Already a two-time premiership-winner with the Sherwood club, Lily said it would be great to play in the AFLW some day but that this was a long way off.
