By RUSSELL BENNETT
BELLA Brown isn’t sure what to make of all the fuss that’s been made of her in the media recently.
The Longwarry junior footy player just does what she does best – going about her business out in the middle of the ground.
She may not see it, but the rest of the footy world is starting to. Bella is no ordinary player.
The Drouin local scooped the best and fairest award pool recently – winning the Warragul and District Junior Football League’s (WDJFL) under-12 best and fairest with a whopping 37 votes.
She also won the best and fairest award for the interleague carnival, to go along with a swag of awards she won at the Crows.
She started playing footy with the boys when she was eight, and nothing about her approach has changed since.
One of the tallest in her team, Bella naturally stands out but that’s got nothing to do with her physical appearance or even her gender.
She’s too busy letting her game do the talking.
One of seven kids, Bella has some big decisions to make in terms of where to go next on her footy journey with interest already flooding in from higher-level Gippsland teams.
When she’s out on the ground, she just sees herself as one of the boys – no different.
Although her Crows side battled at stages this season – winning just the two games – Bella’s team-first attitude shines through in her captaincy.
Her favourite moment came in a game against Neerim South where, simply, she and her team mates all worked together cohesively.
The coaching advice she’s been given that has stuck with her is really quite simple – “Just to man up and have a loud voice out there,” she said.
Bella is constantly working on improving her kicking and contested marking, but she’s already come an incredibly long way from when she first started kicking a Sherrin around.
“She’s been unreal to watch,” her mum Maryanne said.
“She started off very shy and the boys sort of pulled back a bit because she’s a girl, but as soon as she let go the boys didn’t worry her. The boys were tackling her like she was one of them and she was tackling them just as hard.
“Nothing’s different. Footy is footy, and she loves it.”
A passionate Hawks fan, Bella idolises Jordan Lewis – in no small part due to his leadership qualities.
She loves to win, but she knows having fun and working together as part of a team is the main thing. She’s the first to pat her team mates on the back when they come off the field after a game.
Bella’s coach in the under-12s at Longwarry, Steve Tuite, said she played most of this season in the ruck and on the ball.
“She almost comes across as someone who’s very shy but she leads by her on-field efforts,” he said.
“Her second efforts are incredible.
“She’s got a great ability to read the play and a really good footy brain, and she just refuses to stop.”
Steve said Bella is particularly easy to coach because she always gave 100 percent.
“Because we were such a young side she tried to make the team successful and drag her team mates along with her.
“Her being the player of the interleague carnival I think is the biggest feather in her cap – she was the best of the best players.”
And as for Bella’s future footy options – Steve put it simply.
“If she’s got the same ability and can compete with boys of her age, I don’t see why she shouldn’t be allowed to.”
Bella had absolutely no idea what was to come at the WDJFL best and fairest night recently.
She was only expecting “around fifth” in the count.
“I thought I might get close but I never thought I’d come out with a win,” she said with a huge grin.
She’s since done the media rounds – radio, television and state-wide newspapers. But it hasn’t changed her. For Bella, all that matters is the footy and improving her skills alongside her brothers in arms.
