Wheelchair footy ace pursues flag glory

A LEAGUE best and fairest and leading goal scorer, Bendigo-based wheelchair football star Caleb Logan is yearning to mark a premiership victory.

Logan’s outstanding play for Essendon in the latest Victorian Wheelchair Football League season has earned him October’s nomination for Bendigo’s Sports Star of the Year award.

The Bombers’ gun has earned his place in an award race that includes Geelong’s premiership-winning captain Joel Selwood, New Orleans Pelicans and NBA rookie Dyson Daniels, Olympic swimmer Jenna Strauch, and Commonwealth Games lawn bowls gold medallist Aaron Wilson.

In the 2023 season, Logan scored 115 goals as Essendon made its way to a third consecutive VWFL grand final.

The Bombers’ star earned the Robert Rose Medal as the VWFL’s fairest and best player and in round six he scored a league record 25 goals against Hawthorn.

It’s a big commitment each footy season for Logan as he travels to Essendon’s Hangar for Thursday training sessions, and then matches.

“Playing a game I love and for a club I have supported all my life is incredibly rewarding,” he said.

The red and black could not halt Richmond’s charge to VWFL premiership glory as the Bombers were runner-up for the third season in a row.

Logan said the grand final disappointment would be a key motivating factor for himself and Essendon team-mates when pre-season begins in early December and for the 2023 campaign.

This week, Logan has taken to the court at the Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre in Greensborough to represent Victoria at the Toyota Wheelchair AFL National Championships.

The Vics are fielding two teams in which Logan’s goalscoring prowess will be a key against the likes of South Australia, Australian Defence Force, and all other states and territories.

In wheelchair AFL, teams of five take to the court and there is also an interchange bench.

“It’s always action-packed,” Logan said. “Greatest challenge is trying to evade opponents and also not being tackled.”

Players have three seconds to dispose of the ball by handpassing or an underarm throw after being touched by an opponent.

Logan’s progress to wheelchair AFL began when he received a letter from Disability Sport and Recreation.

Since then he has notched up four seasons with Essendon and become one of the competition’s best players.

“I enjoy the challenge of every match and training session, and catching up with mates,” he said. “No matter what sport, it’s about being willing to have a go.”