Parkside Devils ‘The Family Club’

The foundation of any great footy team is mateship and the Parkside Devils have that in spades as the players aren’t just friends, they’re family. 

Anyone and everyone who knows the game of Australian rules football has always associated Hawthorn’s AFL side as “the family club.” 

In 2022, Parkside regularly fielded three mother-daughter duos. At some stages throughout the season, the club has also had a fourth mother-daughter duo playing together, as well as two sisters and an aunt and niece.

The combination of family members worked beautifully as the club qualified to their first ever finals series after joining the competition in 2021. Ahead of the 2023 VAFA Women’s season, the Devils are kicking goals on and off the field.

Jodie Palmer is ready for action, alongside her daughter Annabelle. Kimberley Ison will take to the field alongside Mia, while Martina can’t wait to run out with her mother Marie-Louise Zeevaarder in just over a month’s time. 

Anthony Romano is the club President, and this year is also the coach of the Women’s side. Romano knows what it’s like to play footy at Parkside, having represented the club more than 200 times. He also knows what it’s like to play alongside family members with his brothers Peter, Vince and Mario all pulling on the red and white. 

Speaking on 9 News Melbourne, he is proud his club has got no restrictions on talent, or on age “I think age is just a number…it can be an experience but they’re a great bunch of ladies.”

The foundation of any great footy team is mateship and the Parkside Devils have that in spades as the players aren’t just friends, they’re family. Made up of three mother-daughter duos, an aunty and a niece the amateur side is kicking goals on and off the field. @NearyTy_9 #9News pic.twitter.com/Pxzi8HuDch

— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) March 12, 2023

Annabelle is proud of the leaps and bounds her mother Jodie has made over the past 24 months “It’s really good getting to see her develop.”

“It’s really good but also watching her on the other side of the field get tackled and I don’t know what to do because one time she popped her rib out and I’m like, ‘do I go up to her or do I just let her be’,” she said.

“But it’s really fun connecting with her on the field.”

Palmer told News Corp in 2022 there was one challenge which came with playing with her daughter.

“The only thing that I struggle with sometimes is when she gets tackled and the mum instinct kicks in but we get over that,” she laughed.

For Kimberley Ison, there wasn’t a second guessing, or any questions about joining Parkside when the opportunity became available “it was something that wasn’t available to me as a kid and a little bit of a chip on the shoulder.”

“I still have that strong memory of being told by my school principal that girls don’t play footy,” she said. 

2022 saw the side reach the Preliminary Final in Division 3 Women’s before falling short to Bulleen Templestowe. The club has secured eight new players to the teams line up for this year. 

The remaining fixtures ahead of the 2023 VAFA season beginning on Saturday, April 15 are due to be released in the coming days. 

Photo: News Corp