By KRISTEN ALEBAKIS
MADELINE Keryk’s football journey began more than 10 years ago, when she began playing Auskick with her brothers in Aberfeldie.
She played with the boys for as long as she was allowed to, before making the move to St Albans in the Western Region Football League.
The 21-year-old had a successful stint with St Albans between 2010 and 2013.
“We were in the grand final every year, we won three of the four premierships,” Keryk said.
“I have some fond memories of my time with St Albans.”
Keryk had an impressive junior career, one any footballer would dream of having.
She captained Victoria at the National Under-18 Youth Girls Championships, was an All-Australian and donned the Big V in the Victorian schoolgirls’ team in 2010 and 2011.
Her career with St Albans prepared her for what came next, a move to the Melbourne University Women’s Football Club and a step up to state league competition.
“My football got a lot better at St Albans, I started to train better and I improved a lot,” Keryk said.
“I met a new bunch of people at Melbourne Uni and I have been able to really learn a lot from that exposure.
“The challenge (of playing at a higher level), was good for my footy.”
Keryk continued to let her football do the talking and before she knew it she found herself on an AFL list.
Keryk was a Melbourne player in 2013, before the Western Bulldogs selected her in the draft.
She has now been a part of the team from the west for the past two years and says being involved with an AFL club has been a dream come true.
“It has been awesome,” Keryk said.
“The Western Bulldogs have been really good to us, we have access to all of their facilities and they really make us feel included.
“It was a pretty special feeling when I pulled on the AFL jumper for the first time. Growing up it was something I never thought I would be able to do.”
With conversations about the women’s game becoming the norm and the introduction of the AFL women’s competition next season more girls will get the chance to experience the same feeling Keryk had when she ran onto the MCG for the first time.
Keryk isn’t a jealous person, but she is jealous of the pathway young girls who aspire to play AFL will now have.
“It is getting more common for girls to play footy,” Keryk said.
“It is becoming more accepted at club level and in society.
“If girls want to play footy that should be allowed to.
“Football clubs are great places, you can have a lot of fun, make a lot of friends, it is a good way to keep fit and if you work hard there is a good chance you could make your way to the AFL.”
Keryk said she was hopeful of being a part of the next year’s AFL competition.
“I am just going to continue to work hard,” she said.
Keryk was named in the Western Bulldogs’ squad for its clash with Western Australia at Etihad Stadium tomorrow.
The match will kick-off at 12.30pm. Tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster, with the ticket holder entitled to access both the Western Bulldogs’ women’s exhibition match and the Round 11 AFL clash.
Last Modified on 02/06/2016 15:03