By: Bec HORROCKS

LAST SATURDAY saw the culmination of many months of hard work by the Geelong Women’s Football Task Force, come together in the shape of the inaugural Geelong Girls Gala which was hosted by the Lara United Football Club.

PHOTO: A group photo of all the Junior teams, along with special VIP guests, Victorian State Sports Minister John Eren, ex-Matilda Melissa Barbierri and FFV's Female Football Development Officer Ash Callaghan (Photo: Bec Horrocks)

A total of 13 teams of girls teams and close to 150 players from the entire Geelong region made their way to Lara Recreation Reserve for a day of female football.

On checking in, all players were presented with showbags full of goodies donated by some generous supporters of the first time event, including car chargers, drink bottles and sunscreen from the TAC and vouchers from Subway. The girls were treated to massages by Erin Mulder Myotherapy and Cotton On came on board with gift vouchers that were presented to the junior best and fairest winners and runners up.

The morning saw approximately 75 players from North Geelong, Lara, Golden Plains and Geelong Rangers take part in the junior tournament.

Geelong Rangers entered their first all girls junior team in the Under 12s category with Golden Plains also having a significant number of new players take part. North Geelong defeated Golden Plains in the Under 12s final with the Warriors’ Julia Akmacictaking out the referee voted best and fairest award in her age group while teammate Amanda Dzajkic took out the Runners’ up prize.

In the Under 15s division, Lara United defeated Golden Plains in their final with Jasmine Kenyon of Lara winning the best and fairest vote, closely followed by Lily Stein, also of Lara United.  

Special guests, State Minister for Sport John Eren, ex Matilda’s captain Melissa Barbieri and the FFV’s Female Football Development Officer Ash Callaghan each gave inspiring speeches to the girls before presenting the winners with medals and gift certificates. After a whole group photo the special guests took time to speak with junior and senior players, parents, coaches, stopped for a few photos and watched the seniors kick off their games.

The afternoon’s Senior session consisted of approximately 70 players across 7 teams with two semi-finals taking place before the senior grand final wrapped the day up. In Group 1, Surfside were defeated by Drysdale while in Group 2, the Bunnings Sausages defeated Lara United.

The final was a closely fought battle with the ‘Sausages’ ultimately taking out top spot with a 2-0 win. The referees voted Bunnings Sausages’ Lara Williams as overall best and fairest winner with Carla D’Alessandro, also of the ‘Sausages’ team, coming in as runner up.

The Task Force worked tirelessly to put the event together, with a special mention going out to the major sponsor, Geelong’s Gym, who provided first aid and massages on the day, as well as organising and funding a significant amount behind the scenes. The organisers were rewarded with a sunny day, plenty of smiles on the girls’ faces and fantastic feedback from players, coaches, parents and the special guests who attended on the day. The event will run again during pre-season next year and is anticipated to be even bigger and better.