Blake Gray – @blake_gray14
Two young EFL Girls, Gemma Lagioia and Emily Harley have represented Victoria in the Under 16 Victorian School girls’ team that was crowned national champions after defeating Western Australia in the Grand Final of the School Sports Australia carnival in Sydney.
The girls play for Waverley Blues under 13A, and were the youngest members of the Victorian team.
Not only were they the youngest players in the Victorian, they were both among the best players.
Harley provided a marketing target up forward, while Lagioia was able to win the contested ball through the midfield and on the wing.
Lagioia’s efforts did not go unnoticed, with the young EFL footballer managing to attract attention from the All Australian selectors.
She was named in the best on two out of the five games, kicking five goals along the way, while Harley also managed to kick three.
At just 13 years of age, Lagioia was remarkably named in the All Australian School Girls AFL Team, being recognised as one of the best 22 school girl players in Australia.
Other girls representing the Eastern Football League include Ferntree Gully and Bayswater football clubs, who will compete in the Under 13 Girls Division 2 Grand Final in the SMJFL.
Ferntree Gully finished second overall on the ladder with eight wins, while Bayswater scraped into finals by less than 2% with just the four wins.
As the old chiche goes, anything can happen in finals, and the Bayswater girls are testimone to that, defeating the top side by a mere two points in a semi final to claim a spot in the Grand Final.
The game will take place at Mentone Grammar Oval 2 at 9:00am on Sunday 17th August.
Many clubs are now looking at integrating girls teams into their club, so any girls that may be interested please contact the EFL via email; abailey@efnl.org.au, or phone 9762 5766 to express an interest and we will forward you to your nearest club.