KD - So - Melina, how does a teenage girl like yourself start playing footy?

MT - Well, I was adopted at five months old from India, I have an older sister who was adopted too. Not having any brothers, it was my dad and his love for Richmond that got me involved. I follow Richmond and participated in a membership clinic when I was 15, and afterwards, Michael Roberts (AFL Vic) approached me and told me I was really good and I should play footy. So I joined my local club - Marong, which is the closest to me in Bendigo. I have played with them for two years, in my first year we played in the Grand Final and won it in two extra times - it was such a great experience. Now I play for Bendigo Thunder, who are in their second year, and I am really looking forward to trying to win a premiership with them. What about you, Juddy - how did you start?

KD - I started playing when I was nine at my local junior boys’ footy club.  My uncle coached the team, I joined in one day and it went from there.

KD - You are the youngest player at the Bendigo Thunder. How are you finding it, is it confronting playing against girls who are bigger and stronger with older bodies, how are you adapting?

MT - I hung out with my teammates last year while my dad was making a documentary about them in their inaugural year, so I got to know them. I knew my opponents would be massive, and they are really well skilled. When we had our first practice match last week, I must admit, I was pretty scared. I have speed but I am not the type of player that attacks the ball - I am more of a wingman and I like to get out and run. I am pretty worried but it’s a good group of girls to be with, and they really look after me.  My dad has always said to me, “they can be bigger and stronger but you can run faster than them, so grab the ball and go”. You play in VWFL, how do you go with that stuff?

KD - When I first started I was an outside player, but now I have been playing for a while I have built my confidence. Now I love being an inside player.

MT - But what built that confidence, because it can be scary when you first start?

KD - I guess I just want the ball, I have gone to the gym and gotten stronger, so I know I can do it, and I want the ball. I see the ball in there and I go for it, I don’t think about the opponent, I think about winning the contest. I guess after playing on the outside and watching you get to a point where you just want to get in there, now I do it all the time. I play off the half back flank now, whereas before I was in the midfield, and now I am more focused on stopping my opponent.

KD - So who do you think has been a role model or inspiration to look up to?

I’m not sure. I have always wanted to play football, just watching Richmond, I am obsessed with the club, I love the club. And now, after being in the Tridents Academy the last few days, I know how far women can go with football, and how big it is becoming - there are so many opportunities to be a part of football. I don’t really have a role model as I haven’t really watched women’s football, but seeing how far Deb (Debbie Lee, Community Manager at MFC and VWFL champion) has gotten with her football, as well as Chyloe (Chyloe Curtis, AFL VIC female development manager) and yourself, Juddy (Kara Donnellan - All Australian player and VWFL vice captain for St Albans Spurs), it is a real eye opener to see how far you can get. Did you have a role model for your footy?

KD - Growing up I followed Collingwood, but they were great at that time. My uncle and granddad followed Hawthorn, and Shane Crawford was a star at the time. I really liked the way he was so hard at the ball, and I guess he was in the media and a really well liked person.

KD - Yesterday, you heard about pathways for female footballers. Are you excited for the future, and do you think you will continue with football?

Yeah, for sure. I have played netball, but there is nothing like football - you can’t go back to any no contact sport once you have played footy. I am looking forward to watching the development and seeing how many teams will compete, and how the AFL will support women’s football.

KD - Do you want to play in the AFL?

Probably not at the elite level, maybe at a VFL type standard or reserves. There are so many great players out there, girls that are more athletic, and more skillful. I know I may not have the body type, skill or athleticism to play at an AFL level, but I will try to go as far as possible. Do you think you will play at an AFL level one day. You have been an All Australian and played state, do you think you will be part of the next stage?

KD - I hope so, it depends when it all gets up and going, I would love to play or be involved in some capacity, maybe as a coach or in the development of the game for women.

KD - You did Tridents last year and this year, what have you enjoyed the most, and what are you going to take back to your club that you have learnt?

MT - Getting around the girls and the hands on stuff we have done. Being the first girls to take part in the Academy last year was great, but it was more theory based last year. This year we have done the clinic with the MFC and we are doing training with the players, and getting out on the ground having a training session run by Melbourne players.

KD - is there anything you will take back to your club? Right now you are the youngest player, will you take on the leadership role or is that a few years away?

MT - Yeah, for sure.  I might be the youngest player there, but I am one of the most experienced when it comes to football - a lot of the girls are new to footy and I will personally try to help them. A lot of girls who played last year have got their own personal goals, and things they want to improve on. I find when I help someone else it actually helps me improve too, so I will take back the things I have learnt here, like the nutrition stuff Jo Shinewell from the MFC talked about, like hydration and the recipes in our Trident booklets.

KD - if there was a girl who hadn’t heard much about female football and wanted to get into it - what is the advice you would give her?

Probably just to find your local club that has a team whether it is youth girls or seniors, there are so many positions for women in football from a job to playing, just keep at it because it is growing and more opportunities are going to come. The earlier you get started, the more opportunity you have to grow your skills and improve.