‘I felt like a superhero’: Grand final rematch win sweeter for milestone captain

THE football world was at the feet of Geelong Amateur’s Melanie McNamara as she celebrated her 200th game in a hotly contested grand final rematch.

From playing school football at Matthew Flinders through to becoming a cornerstone of the Corio Devils, McNamara has witnessed the rapid evolution of women’s football firsthand.

Now the heartbeat of the Wammos side, the premiership captain was well celebrated by her club.

“It was so special. I honestly did feel like a celebrity,” McNamara said.

“Walking down, the umpires reached out to me, people from around the club. We’re trying to embed the team within the club and it was just nice to have people reach out and they knew that this milestone was happening.”

A pre-game video featuring former teammates and people she has shared the journey with brought the long-time player to tears.

“I was sobbing. It was such a nice start to the game. I felt like a superhero,” she said. “This is a really good achievement and I felt so special.”

With more than 15 years in the game, McNamara has seen junior pathways expand and elite competitions grow, but says the strongest part of football remains the sense of connection it creates.

“Sport has enriched my life so much,” she said.

“All my friends are through sport and footy. The community of sport, I can’t really convey that and I feel like if you don’t play footy, you might not see that, but it’s really central to my whole life.

“What brings me back each season is not playing games on Saturdays; that’s not the motivator. It’s not how many tackles or goals I can kick, it literally starts with the team, who am I playing with, who is coming back next season that I get to share this with.”

Topping off the celebrations was a nail-biting one-point win over Grovedale in a grand final rematch.

McNamara said the match carried plenty of emotion, along with some frustration.

“I think from a coaching sense, there was just so much pressure,” she said.

“We were out there trying to prove ourselves and now we’re going back to training with work to do.

“We had a lot of moving pieces in terms of players returning from injury and trying to manage young ones that are coming up, people who are playing their best footy but are still fringe players.

“We have a lot of player management in terms of just picking the team to suit the match-up.”

This weekend the Wammos face Geelong West, who have stepped into the top division after narrowly missing a premiership in 2025.

McNamara said her side would approach the game no differently to any other game, though she anticipates a highly physical contest.

The Giants have won two of their four games so far this season.