Victorian Football League Women’s: Hawthorn Football Club stars head north

Hawthorn stars Meg Hutchins and Rebecca Leeson head north to show footy can be a vehicle for change

Rebecca Beeson and a brand new Hawks fan in the Northern Territory

While Hawthorn enjoyed a week off for the VFLW Queen’s Birthday long weekend bye, two Hawks made a long trip north for what proved to be a life changing experience.

Meg Hutchins and Rebecca Beeson travelled to Katherine to take part in the annual Barunga Festival, bringing with them the message of footy and its power to effect change.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Hutchins said of the festival. “A lot of communities come from a fair way away for the festival.

“To be able to represent the club and see it for myself was incredible.

“The club always does something around the Barunga Festival and the school visits before the carnival.

“It’s something the club is really invested in.”

Hutchins said the distance some of the participants travel to take part in the event was an eye-opener.

“It puts things in perspective a bit when you are complaining about sitting in traffic,” she said. “And just to see some of the issues they have up there.”

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Meg Hutchins said she learned a lot from her trip north for the Barunga Festival in Katherine

The Barunga Festival was first held in 1985 and attracts 4000 indigenous and non-indigenous people to the Katherine region for a program of music, sport, traditional arts and cultural activities.

Hutchins and Beeson spent a few days visiting indigenous communities in partnership with groups like youth mental health organisation Headspace.

Footy is always played with smiles on faces

One program the Hawks are involved with aims to encourage indigenous children to stay in school with participants required to achieve 80 per cent attendance or they are not allowed to take part in footy programs.

“Using footy as a vehicle for change,” Hutchins said.

“There’s a huge amount of talent, they’re fast and agile. There were five or six girls that I saw even with my untrained eye. And they just have a love for the game and great, silky skills.

“Unfortunately they have such obstacles to reaching the top.”

At the festival itself the girls were involved with the under-15 carnival and held kicking competitions at the senior football competition.

While the two Hawks brought plenty to the festival, Hutchins said they took away just as much by the week’s end.

“Absolutely beautiful people and communities up there and they just welcome you and make you part of their lives,” she said.

And the trip made her rethink her approach to football.

“Footy really is just a game, even if it is a vehicle for change,” she said. “But the love they get out of the game itself, it just makes you realise it is just a game and you have to play it with a smile on your face.”

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