Daughter versus Dad as Moorabbin turns into Burke’s backyard
TYPICALLY when Alice Burke runs on to a football field she looks up into the stands and scans the crowd until she finds her dad, St Kilda legend Nathan.
When she sees him, he’ll either give her a thumbs up or down – a code and special sign language between them as he gives her fatherly footy advice.
But when the 18-year-old defender runs on to Moorabbin Oval on Friday night for her AFLW debut for St Kilda, wearing her father’s famous No.3, she’s not sure whether he’ll be able to give her his traditional signal, despite it being one of her most exciting games to date.
Nathan will be busy in the warm-up as the head coach of the Western Bulldogs – the team Alice will be making her debut against.
“It’s not your usual situation,” Alice admits. “We were talking about it a bit (Wednesday) night and he was saying it’s a bit sad he won’t be able to properly enjoy my first game, but we’ll make it work.
“Either way, he’ll be happy to see me out there.”
She pauses briefly, then adds with a laugh: “although he probably won’t want me doing too well”.
In November last year, Alice – Nathan’s youngest of three daughters – became the Saints’ first-ever father-daughter pick, after playing two seasons of NAB League footy with the Sandringham Dragons.
She was “elated” to find out on Wednesday night that she would make her elite debut in Round 1.
Nathan, a four-time All-Australian and 323-game legend of St Kilda, retired after 17 seasons, having debuted in 1987.
He wore the No.3 guernsey from 1992 until his final game in a Round 19 clash against Richmond on August 9, 2003.