Pictured above: Division 3 Women’s La Trobe v AJAX post match group photo.
Round 10 of the VAFA competition was Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) Round with a focus on supporting the Mental Health of VAFA Clubs, their players, and coaches.
Tackle Your Feelings is a free mental health training program for community AFL coaches, as well as committee members and other club support staff. The program is delivered by a local psychologist and aims to help participants gain the tools to Understand, Recognise and Respond to signs of mental ill-health in their players. The program is based on the education delivered to the AFL industry and is led by high profile player and coach ambassadors.
An initiative for TYF Round 2023 was the presentation of Tackle Your Feelings Round medals to the best player on the day from each team, as determined by the opposing coach. Medals were presented in a single match from each section.
A highlight of the round was guest appearance from Kaitlyn Ashmore, Tackle Your Feelings ambassador and current Hawthorn AFLW player and previously Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne after being drafted in 2016, who presented the Tackle Your Feeling medals for the William Buck Premier Women’s game, Fitzroy FC v West Brunswick AFC.
If your club is interested in being a part of a Tackle Your Feelings workshop in 2023 or 2024, please reach out to VAFA Club Development Coordinator, Casey Crapper ([email protected]).
2023 VAFA Tackle Your Feelings Round – Medal Recipients
Home Team TYF Medal Recipient
Away Team TYF Medal Recipient
William Buck Premier Mens
Durras Seccull (Old Haileybury)
Rhys Galvin (Old Scotch)
William Buck Premier Womens
Robyn Randell (Fitzroy FC)
Taylah Watson (West Brunswick AFC)
Premier B Mens
Jake Williams (De La Salle)
Jordan Farrell (St Bernards)
Premier B Womens
Tahlia Hayes (Brunswick FC)
Anna Purtill (Monash Blues)
Premier C Mens
Jack McCartney (Ormond AFC)
Will Nagle (Old Ivanhoe Grammarians)
Division 1 Womens
Maggie Wilson (Old Camberwell Grammarians)
Vanessa Murphy (Old Xaverians)
Division 1 Mens
Finn Urie (UHS-VU)
Harrison Burke (Ivanhoe AFC)
Division 2 Mens
Nathan Volk (MHSOB)
Blake Gray (Aquinas)
Division 3 Womens
Kaitlyn Ritchie (La Trobe University)
Julia Caplan (AJAX)
Division 4 Mens
Jacob Rose (Eley Park)
Dave Velardo (Masala Dandenong)
William Buck Premier Men’s TYF medal recipients and coaches. From left, Old Scotch Coach Mark Gnatt, Old Haileybury medal recipient Durras Seccull with Coach Daniel Ward, and Old Scotch medal recipient Rhys Galvin.William Buck Premier Women’s TYF medal recipients. Left: Robyn Randell (Fitzroy FC), Right: Taylah Watson (West Brunswick AFC) with TYF Ambassador Kaitlyn Ashmore (centre).Division 2 Men’s TYF medal recipients and coaches. From left: MHSOB Coach, Aquinas medal recipient Nathan Volk, MHSOB medal recipient Blake Gray, Aquinas Coach.
Two incredible come-from-behind wins provided the exclamation points to an entertaining afternoon of top-flight action. One of the most astonishing back-from-the-dead performances we’ve seen in recent years occurred at Melbourne
In a match that somehow lived up to its considerable billing, Parkdale Vultures emerged 13.6 (84) to 11.8 (74) victors over AJAX, in their top of the table clash. AJAX
Round 8 of the Division 1 Men’s competition was fairly uneventful with most of the favourites getting up and ascending their claim on the top half of the ladder. After