Abbey Green reunited with great uncle and aunt as Tasmania’s new AFL club grows

It was a chance encounter, brought about by the power of football, which led to a moment footy ambassador Abbey Green will never forget. How she was reunited with long lost family, thanks to the game she loves.

Abbey Green in Oatlands with great uncle Brendan Green and great aunt Anne Green.

Tasmania’s new AFL club is being built one community connection at a time.

The competition’s 19th team is an unashamedly homegrown organisation where the island’s deep links to the game are valued and celebrated.

At a recent Community Event at the Oatlands RSL, Tasmania Football Club ambassador Abbey Green experienced first-hand the power of football to bring people together during an unexpected family reunion.

Green, a former AFLW player at North Melbourne and Collingwood, had finished presenting at the event when she was approached a lady and gentleman seated in the front row.

“They told me their name was also Green,” the Launceston Football Club product said.

“I told them that my nan and pop, Dorothy and Kenneth Green, had lived in Hobart.

“And the lady said, ‘well this is your pop’s brother’.

“I had no idea. My nan and pop have passed away, so it was a really special moment and a classic Tasmanian story.”

Former AFLW player Abbey Green has been travelling the state as an ambassador for Tasmania’s new AFL club. Picture: Richard Jupe

Green and her long-lost great uncle and great aunt, Brendan and Anne, chatted well into the evening, catching up on Green clan history, including the family members whose names appear on the wall of the RSL as life members.

And in turns that out the Greens share more than a blood connection.

“Brendan was sitting there in a Richmond top, and I am a diehard Richmond fan, and my dad was a diehard Richmond fan, so it must run in the family,” Green said.

“And I have been chatting with all of Brendan’s nieces and nephews, and they all go for Richmond as well.”

Green described the series of Community Events being held during summer as “heartwarming”, saying it had been amazing to see Tasmanians come out and support the fledgling club.

Abbey Green with Jack Riewoldt at the Tasmania Football Club Community Event at Queenstown Football Club. Picture: Jasper Da Seymour

She said that the club had a bright future if the community response so far was anything to go by.

“Events have been packed, and it doesn’t matter if you’re from the North, North-West, or South of the state, we are all in it for the same reasons,” Green said.

“It’s been really nice to hear everybody’s stories, and it has really brought people together.

“People just want to sign up, are excited for the memberships to come out, and just want to be part of the journey.

“They are just excited that we have this chance, because we have been fighting for it for so long.”