By ALESHA CAPONE
YOUNG Shae-Lee Murphy-Burke is modest about her talent on the football field.
The Altona Junior Football Club member recently received the Western Region Football League (WRFL) Youth Girls Best and Fairest award.
Shae-Lee said she did not expect to receive the WRFL honour.
“I was completely and utterly shocked out of my mind,” Shae-Lee said.
“The number one I enjoy about football thing is being part of a club and the support of everyone, the family you have at the footy club.”
At 18, the Altona North resident said she was proud of her team for making the preliminary finals for the first time this year and losing by only nine points to Wyndham Vale.
Shae-Lee grew up wanting to follow in the footsteps of her football-playing brother and joined the Altona club at 14.
She has also played on the Western Youth Girls Interleague Team and the Victorian School Girls Team Under-16s.
“In my eyes, my biggest achievement and proudest moment was playing for the Under-18 Victorian team this year,” she said.
This year, Shae-Lee will join Altona’s senior women’s side, and she hopes to again play at a state level.
As a Western Bulldogs devotee, Shae-Lee nominated Brad Johnson as her idol.
“I’m a number six like him as well,” she said.
The talented teenager encouraged other girls to take up football.
“Boys and parents are very accepting if you go to a club like ours where there is plenty of support,” she said.
The Altona Junior Football Club is searching for more girls aged 12-18 to join their team and the Altona Football Club is recruiting women for their team. See www.altonafc.com.au for more information.
