Matt’s six goal haul in prelim match

By Alexandra Wilson

Nov 30, 2022

Matt Hannan has been practicing his ball skills ahead of next week's tournament.

AFL enthusiast Matt Hannan lived out a dream last week, scoring six goals in a footy final.

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His Division 2 side, NSW/ACT, made it to the preliminary finals stage of the Toyota Wheelchair AFL National Championship in Melbourne last Friday.

Unfortunately, his side lost that final to the ADF team, which took out the grand final with a strong victory over the RSL by 37 points.

In the preliminary final, Hannan’s NSW/ACT team went down 85 to 67 points.

This was despite Hannan’s six-goal haul.

While it wasn’t a fairytale finish to his Wheelchair AFL National Championships debut, Hannan was happy with his personal, and his team’s, efforts.

“It was a really good experience. It’s a very inclusive sport,” he said.

“There are males and females, people of all ages.”

As part of the championships, the NSW/ACT team played games against representative sides from across Australia.

The newly opened Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre hosted the event - the first since 2019 - and there were 11 teams with 70 players participating.

“Each team had about eight to 10 players,” Hannan said.

“There were people with varying levels of ability.

“There are a couple of young fellows, only in Year 9 and Year 11, and they really had a go.”

Describing his body condition after the event, Hannan said: “I feel a little bit jaded,” with a self deprecating laugh.

Hannan said being a part of the NSW/ACT side was an experience he will always hold dear.

“We were just not quite good enough, as a whole, to take out Division 2,” he said.

“But the improvement throughout the Championship was great, especially from the younger two fellows.

“There was a massive amount of improvement in the side from when we first started to the level in the final game.”

The athletes played seven games all up in the championships for their state/territory teams, and 11 10-minute games in the Lightening Premiership beforehand to decide which teams went into the Division 1 and Division 2 draws.

The championships culminated in grand finals on Friday.

Teams from Western Australia, Queensland, NSW/ACT and Northern Territory competed in the championships for the first time, alongside teams from South Australia, Tasmania and two from Victoria.

There were also two teams from the Australian Defence Force and a Returned & Services League (RSL) squad.

By Alexandra Wilson