A ton of games

By Lachlan Ellis

A local footballer has become the first female player to reach 100 junior games for her club, and her first coach believes she has what it takes to play at the top level.
Sixteen-year-old Elise Cook played her 100th game for the Bacchus Marsh Cobras on Sunday 31 July, a milestone made even sweeter with Ms Cook booting a goal, and her U/16s side thumping East Point by 114 points.
Darren Smith was Ms Cook’s first football coach, taking her on as part of the U/10s boys’ team.
Mr Smith said she took well to playing with the boys, and was a natural talent that could inspire younger female footballers.
“She just got straight into it…when I started coaching the U/10s, my oldest son was age eligible and my youngest son perhaps wasn’t, but I was given the okay by the President at the time. I thought, I’ve got a duty of care…when I got there, Elise was there. I thought, I’ve got a girl and young boy, I’d better take care of these two…what I found out very quickly was, Elise didn’t need looking after,” he told the Moorabool News.
“Back then in 2014, it was before AFLW was introduced. I certainly thought it was the future, and Elise was a bit of a pioneer within the club in terms of females playing footy. In U/10s, you have kids who have a grasp, and you have kids who are right at the start of their football journey.
“Elise had the capability of being agile, coordinated, and kicking the footy from the get-go. When AFLW started, they’d have a lot of athletes coming from different sports playing footy. I think Elise is in the box seat to chase down an AFLW career, if she wants to have a crack at that. She’s a footballer, she’s not an athlete playing footy.”
Ms Cook said being the first junior female to play 100 games for Bacchus Marsh was a proud achievement, and getting called up for an AFLW side in a couple of years would be a dream come true.
“It felt pretty special to run out for my 100th, I was really excited. I really enjoyed it. It was alright playing with the boys when I was younger, it was a bit like playing with my brother in the backyard really,” Ms Cook said.
“It was a big step this year playing with the Rebels in the NAB League, and for Vic Country. I was nervous at first, the intensity of the footy is much higher and there are a lot of people with a higher skill level. But settling into that was good, learning new skills, and meeting new people was a good experience,” she said.
“I hope to make AFLW, that’s my end goal. I really want to stick with footy. It’d mean a lot to hear my name called out on Draft Night, it’d be a dream.”
Ms Cook also thanked her past coaches Darren Smith, Brett Stone, and current coach Damian Dannett, as well as BMFNC Junior President Michael Kennedy, Dean Jenks, and her mum, dad, grandparents, and brother Will for their constant support.
In total, Ms Cook has played over 103 games of football with the Bacchus Marsh club.