Fitzroy celebrates a decade of Roygirls

It was a day of celebration at Brunswick Street Oval last Saturday as the Fitzroy Football Club celebrated the tenth anniversary of its women’s program in style, with the Roys’ Reserves and Seniors both posting great wins before launching into a huge sold-out post-match function.

The mighty Roygirls first took to the field for an official game on Sunday April 19, 2015 in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU) before adding a Reserves team the following season. Both were part of the inaugural VAFA Women’s competition in 2017.

In honour of the anniversary, current and former Fitzroy coaches selected a star-studded Team of the Decade.

Foundation player and inaugural VAFA Captain, Gemma Minuz, was named captain, with vice-captains Alexa Madden (FFC ACU’s first captain) and Cass Blake (three-time FFC ACU captain and captain of the 2022 VAFA Premier B Team of the Year).

The team included the likes of:

• Tash Ross-Harris, (inaugural 2017 VAFA Premier Women’s Best & Fairest)
• Fellow VAFA Team of the Year members Lauren Atkinson and Sarah Lynas
• 2018 Big V squad member Hilary Collette
• Teresa Zampaglione (runner-up in 2019 Premier Women’s Best & Fairest Award)
• Cass Blake (2021 VAFA Premier B Best & Fairest runner-up)

President David Leydon said it was fantastic to see so many people come out to watch on Saturday and stay to celebrate.

“There was such a great feeling around the club all day. We had players and coaches from the very earliest days being able to see and meet current players from the Reserves and Seniors teams, which are both on their way to finals.”

Leydon said a clear highlight was foundation player, Liz Olney, kicking her 100^th goal.

“We couldn’t have scripted it better. Liz is a club legend who lives and breathes Fitzroy and is the epitome of the heart and soul shown by all of our women players.”

Senior Coach, Nathan Jumeau, said while it was great to look back at the 10 years, the most exciting thing was being able to see such a strong future, largely because of the effective pipeline now in place for players from the Fitzroy Junior Football Club.

“On Saturday, I think there were 9 players in the Seniors who have come from the juniors and similar numbers in the Reserves. And I had no hesitation in naming current FJFC player, Ellie Sbeghen, second best on ground for her very first senior game.

“Three of the women in the Team of the Decade – Hilary Collett, Jaime Nelson and Lucy Kerr – are or have coached at the juniors while also playing and this is a great way to connect the junior girls to us and have them see how they can go on to senior footy.”

VAFA Chief Executive Officer Jason Reddick was full of praise for the club.

“As one of the VAFA Women’s foundation clubs, the Roygirls have been proud trailblazers, contributing so much to the development and growth of the VAFA competition that we consider to be the premier community women’s football league in the nation.

“Congratulations on your tenth birthday and well done to everyone who has invested time, energy and passion into building this successful women’s program that continues to grow from strength to strength. Here’s to the decades to come!”

Fitzroy appeared headed for an exciting September in 2024, with the Senior Women’s team currently third on the Premier B ladder, while the Reserves are three games clear on top of the table.