GWS Giant Elle Bennett to be part of AFL, AFLW double header history
If she hadn’t decided to give a new sport a go, schoolteacher Elle Bennetts wouldn’t be about to write her name into AFL and AFLW history
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GWS Giant player Elle Bennetts never imagined just a few years ago she would be part of a historic game in a sport she didn’t even play.
But on March 21, out at Giants Stadium, this cross coder will be involved in AFLs first ever double header for premiership points.
“It is going to be pretty special,” said Bennetts, introduced to the sport by Giants captain Alicia Eva back in 2018.
“We talk about being a big family and to play before them is going to be amazing.
“Hopefully it’s a game we can win and get us into the final.”
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The Giants will be the first club to stage an AFLW and AFL double header when the GWS men open their season at Giants Stadium.
The Giants women will play Geelong in their round seven encounter while the men will play the Cats in their first game of 2020.
The first game is at 5.10pm and the second at 7.25pm.
At the time of publication the match was due to go ahead. However, this may change due to the developing coronavirus measures.
Bennetts, who grew up playing netball and Aus Kick before joining the Giants in 2018 as a rookie, is teaching at St. Catherine’s in Waverley where she is head of representative sport.
She has also played top level netball in Victoria and is a NSW Swifts training partner for the 2020 Super Netball season after playing a game for the club last year.
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“I played a little Aus Kick but never AFL at school. That’s when I did netball,” said Bennetts, originally from Melbourne but now living in Bronte.
“I grew up with Alicia Eva who is the captain of our group. She reached out to see if I was interested, and I got signed as a rookie and elevated during the season.”
At the end of the AFLW season, Bennetts will take a week off before joining the NSW Swifts ahead of Super Netball.
“It can be tricky to juggle but I am keen to be playing as long as I can,’’ she said.
The NSW Swifts won last season’s Super Netball title with this competition kicking off on May 2
The Swifts season kicks off with a grand final rematch between the NSW Swifts and Sunshine Coast Lightning at the defending champions new home, Ken Rosewall Arena, on May 3.
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