Lisa Walshe plays 200th game for Knox in Eastern Region women’s Division 1

On Saturday, Lisa Walshe broke through a crepe paper banner and ran out for her 200th game of senior footy. And it’s fair to say the women’s footy landscape has changed in that time.

Lisa Walshe leads Knox out at Shultz Reserve prior to her 200th game on Saturday. Picture: Andy Brownbill

On Saturday, Lisa Walshe broke through a crepe paper banner and ran out for her 200th game of senior footy.

And it’s fair to say the women’s footy landscape that greeted the Knox captain-coach prior to the Eastern Region women’s Division 1 clash against the Waverley Blues at Shultz Reserve was unrecognisable when compared to the day she first laced her boots as a teenager.

“I started playing when I was 17 and this is my 15th season,” she said. “Originally it was just a kick for fun and to do something after high school.”

While the recent explosion in women’s footy has thrilled many, and caught just as many by surprise, there is little doubting how the creation of an AFL women’s competition has taken the sport to a whole new level.

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No longer are girls an oddity on a footy field, the current generation of women’s player is serious about its footy and has demanded a pathway to the elite level.

“There’s even girls-only Auskick now,” Walshe said. “It’s great for the girls coming through.

“Probably the younger ones have got that (serious) attitude. We have a really young side this year and you can really see that.

“In the past, boys have grown up with a footy in their hands. Girls are getting like that these days.”

Lisa Walshe breaks through her 200-game banner Picture: Supplied

Walshe has always been an eastern suburbs girls, starting her footy with the Eastern Lions before playing at Scoresby and the Eastern Devils in the old Victorian Women’s Football League and with Knox in the Victorian Football League and now the Eastern Region competition.

The Falcons veteran said the growth of women’s footy in Melbourne’s east, though a little behind other areas in Melbourne, was having a huge influence on local players.

“There were eight teams about three years ago and now they have so many teams they don’t know where to put them,” Walshe said. “When I started playing we had to go to Ballarat, to Geelong, to the Mornington Peninsula to play.

“It was such a commitment to play football, particularly for parents who had to drive the girls to games.

“It’s much better now that it’s more local.”

Like any footballer in any competition, male or female, a 200-game career results in plenty of moments for the highlight reel.

“The individual milestones are good,” she said. “But the grand finals have been great, especially when Scoresby won back-to-back flags in ’08 and ’09.”

Walshe is particularly proud of the Magpies’ win over Berwick in the VWFL South-East Conference decider of 2008 when, just two weeks after being smashed by the Wickers to the tune of 71 points in the second semi-final, they edged to the front in the final quarter and raised the silverware by just 13 points.

And, male or female, a player will never be able to outrun father time for ever.

“Injuries are starting to take their toll and I find it harder to shake them off these days,” she laughed, although she refused to rule out the possibility that she would break through a crepe paper banner for game No.300 in just a few years time.

“But I’ve really enjoyed coaching this year. I’d always wanted to coach but I’ve probably had it flicked at me a bit quicker than I expected this year.”

Lisa Walshe and Scoresby celebrate a grand final win.