Pictured above: Division 3 Women’s La Trobe v AJAX post match group photo.
Round 10 of the VAFA competition was Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) Round with a focus on supporting the Mental Health of VAFA Clubs, their players, and coaches.
Tackle Your Feelings is a free mental health training program for community AFL coaches, as well as committee members and other club support staff. The program is delivered by a local psychologist and aims to help participants gain the tools to Understand, Recognise and Respond to signs of mental ill-health in their players. The program is based on the education delivered to the AFL industry and is led by high profile player and coach ambassadors.
An initiative for TYF Round 2023 was the presentation of Tackle Your Feelings Round medals to the best player on the day from each team, as determined by the opposing coach. Medals were presented in a single match from each section.
A highlight of the round was guest appearance from Kaitlyn Ashmore, Tackle Your Feelings ambassador and current Hawthorn AFLW player and previously Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne after being drafted in 2016, who presented the Tackle Your Feeling medals for the William Buck Premier Women’s game, Fitzroy FC v West Brunswick AFC.
If your club is interested in being a part of a Tackle Your Feelings workshop in 2023 or 2024, please reach out to VAFA Club Development Coordinator, Casey Crapper ([email protected]).
2023 VAFA Tackle Your Feelings Round – Medal Recipients
| Home Team TYF Medal Recipient | Away Team TYF Medal Recipient | |
| William Buck Premier Mens | Durras Seccull (Old Haileybury) | Rhys Galvin (Old Scotch) |
| William Buck Premier Womens | Robyn Randell (Fitzroy FC) | Taylah Watson (West Brunswick AFC) |
| Premier B Mens | Jake Williams (De La Salle) | Jordan Farrell (St Bernards) |
| Premier B Womens | Tahlia Hayes (Brunswick FC) | Anna Purtill (Monash Blues) |
| Premier C Mens | Jack McCartney (Ormond AFC) | Will Nagle (Old Ivanhoe Grammarians) |
| Division 1 Womens | Maggie Wilson (Old Camberwell Grammarians) | Vanessa Murphy (Old Xaverians) |
| Division 1 Mens | Finn Urie (UHS-VU) | Harrison Burke (Ivanhoe AFC) |
| Division 2 Mens | Nathan Volk (MHSOB) | Blake Gray (Aquinas) |
| Division 3 Womens | Kaitlyn Ritchie (La Trobe University) | Julia Caplan (AJAX) |
| Division 4 Mens | Jacob Rose (Eley Park) | Dave Velardo (Masala Dandenong) |
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