Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak again about an amazing group of people I've watched over the course of the year with a mixture of awe and pride. I've stood in this parliament and spoken about the great bunch of girls, parents and volunteers at the Rockingham Rams Football Club a number of times already—and it's going to go on for a long time, I can assure you. I'm continually in a state of awe, pride and excitement as I watch these young women smash stereotypes and smash out some great football in excellent competitions in games that many of us here, many of us older women, wish we could have played when we were younger.

Last Friday I went down to watch the Rams girls play in their grand final at the Warnbro recreation centre against tough competition from the Mandurah Mustangs. The Warnbro rec centre is where I played hockey as a girl, with old friends Nat Harker and Kim Thompson, and it's fabulous to see young women getting to play footy on those same fields. It was an exciting grand final, but it wasn't to be for the Rockingham Rams. After a great contest, the Rams went down by 10 points to the opposition, the Mandurah Mustangs—another strong group of young women playing a great game and enjoying the support of the wonderful Mandurah community, which made the effort to do the short road trip up to Warnbro to check out the game.

I've had the privilege of watching these girls grow, compete and, most of all, have fun. The support they've received from their parents, their coaching staff and the community has been phenomenal. Their support and guidance has been recognised, with their coach, Glen Millar, being awarded Coach of the Year from the Peel district for his many hours coaching this team of young women and also the junior boys team. I was speaking to my brother John Morris the other day, who went to school with Glen, and when I mentioned Glen Millar's name, the first thing John said was, 'Glen is an absolute legend of the football game.' Clearly Glen's guidance has paid off, with the girls reaching the grand final in their first year together, and for many of them it was the first time they'd played football. Team captain, Dakota Dal Bello, received the Best and Fairest award for the whole year, also from the Peel district, as well as the Most Courageous on the day of the grand final. You were all courageous, girls.

I want to thank Female Football WA for the medal presentation and for continuing to encourage women of all ages to pick up a footy and have a kick with their mates. I would like to acknowledge the whole team here today: Dakota Dal Bello, Katie Millar, Brianna Pink, Lily Foggin, Shanice Hayden, Aimee Mathieson, Teagan Grant, Holly Burton, Sienna Warwick, Lauren Touhy, Aiesha Ugle-Woods, Abby McCorriston, Teka Schneider, Eloise Powell, Erin Klopper, Kala Taylor and Lucie Thompson.

I'd also like to mention Rita Mae, Siobhan Hall and Ella Tvredeic and wish them a speedy recovery from their injuries. They missed out on the grand final but they were there supporting their teammates, and the world of football—well, it's full of injuries. I'd like to thank the team manager, Bec Dal Bello, and the president of the Rockingham Rams footy club, Michael Holland, who have been so welcoming in my first year of sponsoring the team. I can't wait to see you next season. I wish you all success and I'd just like to say: Go Rams, you little legends! Good on you girls!