Daughter of Saints legend Nathan Burke eyes AFLW dream to play footy with St Kilda
STAR footballer Alice Burke is tipped to follow in the footsteps of her Saints legend dad Nathan — and next month she’ll start her campaign to enter the elite women’s competition.
Inner South
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THERE’S a lot to love about Australian rules football. The skills, the big goals, the big marks and the dashing runs.
The nail biters, the rivalries. The joy of winning, the agony of losing, the debut of a young gun and the retirement of an old champion.
The tradition and the trailblazers.
But perhaps the best thing to love about footy is the romantic notion of sentiment.
Footy still has it in spades despite the corporatisation of the modern game.
What’s better than seeing the child of a former club champion run out in the same number and produce their own highlight reel of playing field heroics?
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Picture this, it’s 2021, a nice breezy summer afternoon and a large crowd has packed into Moorabbin’s RSEA Park to watch the AFLW St Kilda Saints take the field.
To steal the famous line, ‘build it and they will come’, and they will on this day because history will be made.
Alice Burke runs out in the No. 3 guernsey made famous by her dad, Saints legend Nathan Burke, to become the first father/daughter player in St Kilda’s history.
Next month, Alice, 16, begins a two-year campaign to make that dream a reality when she runs out for pre-season training with TAC Cup Girls side Sandringham Dragons.
It will only be her second season playing footy at any level. But she has already won the club best and fairest as a bottom-age player.
Some are already touting her as a future AFLW number one draft pick who will almost certainly play for the Saints (who enter the competition in 2020).
For Alice this will be a dream come true.
“Since I started sport I’ve always wanted to be able to play like my dad did,” she said.
“If I could one day wear that jumper as he did, I honestly don’t have words for it but just thinking about it makes me excited and all the more determined to get there.
“Growing up playing with my two sisters, we always had to fight to see who gets to wear number 3 so it’s definitely a special number in our family.
“If I got to choose I wouldn’t hesitate to go with 3.”
Dad is understandably keeping a lid on expectations but admits there will be strong feeling of sentiment if Alice plays for the club he once held the games record at.
“It will be a special moment,” Burke said.
“It will be exciting for the family, exciting for Alice and I’m tipping it will be exciting for the club and the fans.
“Alice has a bit to go though, by the time she is eligible to play in the AFLW (players have to be over 18) the game will be much different to what it is now.”
Burke in his role as assistant coach for VFLW club Southern Saints is well placed to see the direction women’s football is taking.
“This year’s Vic Country team could beat any AFLW side so the quality of footy in two years or three years is going to be amazing.
“You’ll have to be a pure footballer, your skills and knowledge will have to be at a very high level.
“Alice still has to learn what it takes to be a footballer which requires the commitment to do a lot of hard work.”
But she has a valuable resource to tap into at any time, her dad.
Burke, a 323 game, four-time All-Australian, three-time best and fairest winning hard-nut midfielder who represented Victoria 11 times is available for advice whenever it’s needed.
“I have a rule with all my daughters which is I only give advice when I’m asked,” he said.
“Alice is a bit of a sponge though, she is always asking me to kick the footy with her and she has a natural drive to be always improving.
“We recently went camping and Alice had me out kicking the footy every day which was pretty tough on my dodgy knees.”
Alice said her dad was the first person she turned to when her focus switched to footy.
“When I started playing footy I literally had no idea what I was doing,” she said.
“I didn’t understand all the rules or how to even kick, and dad is like this huge bank of valuable information and advice.
“Dad has this saying ‘just go’ and that’s been my motto whenever I play sport.”
Observers of Alice’s first season say her dedication is paying off.
The young star, who plays as a tough defensive midfielder, already has a raking right boot, a huge motor and leg speed to cover the ground. She also plays a similar fearless brand of footy her father was famous for.
Alice was a highly rated junior soccer player who gave up the opportunity to play for Melbourne City to pursue her AFLW dream.
Alice said her dad and the AFLW boom were major reasons for her switching codes.
“I hear people telling me about how my dad played the game, and I have this huge pride and determination to follow in his footsteps because he’s always taught me to value the same things in sport that he has,” she said.
Although Burke would be thrilled to see his daughter run around for the Saints it is not his main concern.
“Alice has my support in whatever she does but I just want her to enjoy herself,” he said.
The hopeful AFLW star is not taking anything for granted either.
“Footballers are chosen on merit so it is incredibly important for me to give 100 per cent in every game no matter what,” she said.
“In the end it doesn’t come to who you know, it’s who you are as a player.”
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