LEADING LADIES STAND TALL
AFL Cairns will do its best to raise awareness for a major issue in the community on Saturday, when all six women’s teams take the field at Cazalys Stadium for the Stand Up to Domestic Violence triple header.
It is a round which, according to Aussie rules rookie Jess Kelly, “shouldn’t have to be done”. She said the round was crucial to so many of her friends.
The Manunda Hawks back said she was proud of being able to play a role in raising awareness around domestic and family violence through sport.
“It’s massive, I have a lot of my friends who work in the sector,” Kelly said.
“So for them, it’s a really important month because it’s DV awareness (month).
“We need to get the word out, for women and men, everyone needs support during this.
“The more games we can play, the more women we can get in sports. It’s crucial.”
Funds raised from the annual round will be donated to the Ruth’s Women’s Shelter Cairns.
“I’m super proud to go out there and make it worthwhile for an amazing issue,” Kelly said.
“We shouldn’t have to do it, unfortunately, and we want to make people more aware of what’s going on, especially in our own town.”
The Hawks will face the Cairns City Lions to kick off the action at Cazalys. The sides butted heads in round 4 with Manunda eking out a onepoint victory.”
“It’s going to be game on, I think,” Kelly said.
“The girls are going to come out pretty hard and they’re going to try and get one up on us – that’s fine, we’re ready.”
The Hawks took a leaf from Port Adelaide’s book against the Lions, scoring the game-winning point in the final minutes to snag the win and secure a spot in the top three.
“It was a very nerve-racking final five minutes,” Hawks’ Rebecca Kloft said.
“There was lots of screaming from the crowd and from the bench.
“We could have scored a six-pointer but it was jagged and we got a point.
“You only need a point to win.” Lions centre half-back Grace Johnson said she was eager for another close game of footy.
“It’s been a really good season so far,” she said.
“This round is really important, especially when you’re having all the games here at Cazalys. It’s (domestic violence) an ongoing issue and one I think we need to fix.”
Cairns City – under the watchful eye of coach Brodie Deverell – sit fourth on the ladder.
It makes Saturday’s match a chance for both sides to gauge their finals-ready form.
Later on in the day, the Centrals Trinity Beach Bulldogs will take on the North Cairns Tigers, as the former looks to establish itself as the second-best team in the competition.
To cap off the triple-header, the South Cairns Cutters will battle it out with the ladder-leading Cairns Saints at 12.30pm.