By Grace Knight
The pre-finals bye has given the Bull Sharks the opportunity to celebrate the impressive 50 game milestones of four remarkable women.
Seasons are relatively short for footballing women, so reaching 50 games in the AFLW or the QAFLW is considered just as significant as a 100-game milestone for men.
Lily Tarlinton, a talented 21-year-old forward and occasional ruck, joined the Bull Sharks in early 2020 after relocating from Mackay.
Back home she played for the City Hawks but her desire to advance in her football career brought her to the Gold Coast and ultimately the Bond Bull Sharks.
“I’d just moved to the coast from my hometown, and I knew a few people who played for Bond, and they all recommended joining,” said Tarlinton.
“All my closest friendships have been formed since coming to Bond. It really is like my little home away from home.”
Growing up, Tarlinton (like many women’s players) was forced to play within the boys’ team.
Fellow 50-gamer Georgia Hutton is glad the days of mixing it with the boys is a thing of the past.
“Since I first took up footy there’s been a massive improvement in female footy engagement and the quality of the game has improved so much,” she said.
Hutton is a skilled winger who first joined the Bull Sharks in 2019.
If Hutton’s commitment to the Bull Sharks wasn’t already evident by her 50 games at Bond, it is by what she does just to get to practice. She lives south of the border in Crabbes Creek. She’s still more than happy to make the two-hour round trip twice a week.
“Initially when I joined Bond, I wasn’t actually eligible to play but I still trained with the Bull Sharks for a year until I turned sixteen,” she said.
“I was always really interested in playing at Bond because I know it’s such a great pathway to the AFLW.”
Another young talent celebrating her 50-game milestone is Boston Jackson, a 21-year-old half-back who was born and raised on the Gold Coast.
Jackson joined the Bull Sharks in 2020 having previously played for Broadbeach Under 17’s.
After getting a glimpse of the Bond culture during fill-in games in 2019, she knew it was the right choice when she made the transition into the senior competition at Bond University.
“Before I took up footy, I was also playing at a pretty high level in netball, but I always wanted something more and I knew that the women’s football space was going to go somewhere and I really wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
“Particularly over the past few years the increased level of engagement from the supporters, players, and coaches has just been really special to be a part of.”
Jackson also acknowledged the impact of Andy Lovell, the Director of AFL at Bond University.
“Andy has made some really incredible changes since he’s arrived here,” she said.
“In this last year our knowledge and our game plays have really just gone to the next level with him, he’s definitely driven our culture, our standard and overall improvement.”
The final Bull Shark to claim a 50-game milestone is 20-year-old ruck and forward player, Jasmyn Davidson.
Davidson’s natural skill for the game was noticed when she was scouted at an interschool competition to join junior club footy at Broadbeach as a sixteen-year-old.
She joined the Bull Sharks in 2020 and has since gone on to play for Queensland in the under 18’s.
“The friendships I’ve made and the opportunities that I’ve been afforded since joining Bond have been awesome,” said Davidson.
“The culture has just continued to get better every year so I couldn’t be happier with where I’m at.”