Kick it to me, Mum!

Raiders football over-35 team members Emma Ince, Leah Dow, Danielle Raisher, Kim Huysmans, Kristy Morris, coach Damian Park, Josie Lond, Leanne Holt and Jo Dow at training. Photo: Adam Wright

Several footy clubs in Melbourne’s suburbs and country Victoria have gone into recess this year, but the women’s game is alive and well on the Peninsula.

On Saturday, April 1, over35s women from Peninsula Raiders Superules Football Club were set to make history by playing their first game – and, girl, were they excited! Nearly excited as some of their kids.

The two young sons of Raiders recruiting volunteer and player Danielle Raisher were amazed when they went to the first over-35s training session in January.

“Oh my gosh, my Mum can kick a footy,” they yelled as Danielle roosted the ball through the goals. The boys, aged seven and 10, are obsessed with football, she said.

“We barrack for Geelong, the AFL premiers, but my parents are from Scotland and England so I only knew about the round ball game as a youngster. The AFLW has done a good job promoting the women’s game to young girls and now older women. Junior clubs on the Peninsula are getting more girls every year. It's fantastic.”

The Raiders over-35 women train at Narambi Reserve on Narambi Rd, off Robertson Drive, in Mornington. The team is the only one on the Peninsula and this side of Mordialloc. Their home ground is Alexandra Park on Main St, where the long-awaited rebuild of the clubrooms is under way, a $9 million project eight years in the making.

The team had its genesis in an AFL initiative last year, Masters QuickKick, run by Women’s AFL Masters Victoria. Six sessions saw several dozen enthusiastic women aged 35 to 50 learn basics such as kicking and handballing, and the club decided to form a team.

The men have four teams and have been playing for many years – over-35s, 45s and 50s. The 45s won the flag last year, the first by the Raiders for 25 years.

There’s 13 women in the inaugural Raiders squad. They’ll play nine-a-side footy this season – three backs, three midfielders and three forwards. “We’ll build up to a squad of 24 and play 18-a-side,” Danielle said. “We’re all brand new to actually playing footy, but most of us are very fitness-minded and go to gyms and parkruns, for example. Our coach is Damian ‘Parksy’ Park, who plays with the over-50s men. Many of us have been involved in our kids playing footy, including on the admin and operational side, but now it’s our turn to run out on to the ground.”

The Raiders will play games against Mordialloc, Port Melbourne, Werribee, Williamstown, Darebin and Box Hill. Games are played every second Saturday on smaller grounds over four 15-minute quarters. Modified rules include no tackling opponents to the ground.

“We rotate through all parts of the ground every quarter and everyone gets a touch – more opportunities to take marks and kick goals,” Danielle said. “The best part is the social side. We’ve all become firm friends and our kids are becoming friends too. We support each other’s physical and mental health. It’s amazing being part of a football team and club.”

Team members come from all over – Rosebud, Hastings, Mornington, Mount Eliza and Frankston, for example. The women are office workers, nurses, stayat-home mums and teachers. One player is a police officer. They train every Wednesday from 6.30pm and players are encouraged to bring their children. Superules women and men often train alongside each other.

Want to join? Contact Danielle Raisher on 0402 747 188. The men are also recruiting – anyone who turns 35 or older this year. Contact Duane Annable on 0419 529 969.