Young gun Reese Sutton will rejoin the Sunbury Lions senior women’s side for the 2022 Essendon District Football League season.
The 17-year-old started her football at the Lions as a junior player before moving to Aberfeldie last season.
She said she was looking forward to rejoining her old club.
“I’ve decided to come back home to the Sunbury Lions and see whether I can play in the VFL,” she said.
“My brother is there, and I know the senior coaches well so it should be really good.”
Now in her third season playing for the Calder Cannons in the NAB League, Sutton has also been named as co-captain of the playing group alongside Olivia Manfre.
Having spent time at the Cannons under leaders such as Georgie Prespakis, who went on to be selected with the number two overall pick in the AFLW draft last season, she said she was excited to be in a position to provide guidance on the field.
She also served as a vice-captain as an under-15s player at the Lions.
“I like the idea of stepping in and being able to take control and letting people know how they can improve. It’s really just about helping girls out so they can keep improving their skills.”
On a personal level Sutton admits there are areas of her game she’s hoping to work on.
Moving forward she said she’s hoping to model her game on prolific AFLW Richmond midfielder Monique Conti.
“She’s just a great player with fast hands and with her kicking,” Sutton said.
“I’m looking to be able to get in more contests, stop my ball-watching, and improve my disposal efficiency.”
She averaged six disposals along with two tackles in the 2020 season and was able to improve those numbers last year to nine disposals and three tackles per game in nine matches.
Oliver Lees
