"She just said it was the happiest day of her life."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
According to her mum Melissa, that is what 14-year-old Abby Weir said after she was given the green light to play for her beloved St Arnaud Football Club again.
Weir was previously forced to run water for her old Under 14s side because of an AFL policy that states that if a girl is 14 as of January 1 they can no longer take part in mixed-gender competitions.
READ MORE:
Melissa, not satisfied with the "outdated" rule, made it her mission to see her daughter take the field again with her home club - and on Friday May 7 her work was validated when Weir was given the all-clear with an over-age permit from the AFL.
"I (initially) had a call from AFL House from a lovely man there called John O'Donohue, who just explained the process and what they were going through and that they were really looking into it ," Weir said.
"He said that they were meeting with their insurance in the next couple of days and that it had certainly caused quite a deal of conversation amongst their staff at AFL House.
"Then they rang me back and said that insurance had approved it and the next step was for the North Central Board to approve it as well and they did. We found out officially that she could play on Friday night."
Melissa was of the belief that Abby's overage-permit is the first of its kind for a girl.
In her return game against Sea Lake-Nundaly, she showed no signs of rust and was named the fourth best player in her side.
Weir - who also plays in for Golden Square in the Bendigo Under 18 Girl's competition - will play out the remainder of the season in St Arnaud's Under 14s side, after which Melissa is hoping to have further discussions with the AFL.
MORE NEWS:
"For the next couple of months we'll just enjoy being able to play footy and then I just said to the AFL that I wanted to keep the conversation going with them about the possibility of playing in the next age group and said we'd discuss that at a later time," Melissa said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.mailtimes.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Wim_Mail_Times
- Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/wimmeramailtimes/