Lions look to grow following inaugural women’s match

BELMONT Sports Club’s first women’s game did not end in victory, but the club’s vice-president says there are plenty of positives to take out of the team’s first match.

Belmont vice-president and key driver behind the formation of the club’s inaugural women’s team, Lily Graham, said sustainability is one of the Lions’ key focuses moving forward as the club navigates the 2024 season.

“We really want to grow the club in this space and off the field we’re really building a really strong and welcoming environment, so more women want to play at our club,” Graham said.

“Head coach Nic Allison is working really hard to continue the work on fundamentals and building on our current list’s knowledge of the game.”

Eleven members of the side’s 23 listed players had never played football prior to last Friday’s inaugural Belmont Lions women’s game against Torquay.

The Lions (1.0.6) lost its first grading game by 69 points to Torquay (11.9.75), scoring just the one goal off the boot of Jess Breuer in the fourth quarter.

Graham said it was a terrific night for the club, seeing years of hard work becoming a reality.

“There’d been built up excitement over the last few months waiting for that first game, so to see the club out in force to support the girls was super exciting.

“Seeing the girls up and about, for the first time running onto the field in the Belmont Lions colours was pretty special as well.

“As you can imagine, when we scored that first goal, the crowd went wild.

“For me personally, it definitely felt like we were in front at that stage. I know it was a huge moment for the girls as well.”

Belmont returns to Winter Reserve tonight for the second of its four grading games, facing Geelong Amateur’s seconds team at 7.00pm.