Congratulations to Tania Carpinteri who becomes the second Womens player to reach 100 games!
It is such a pleasure to congratulate Tania on her 100th game for the Marcellin Old Collegians this week.
I’ve had the privilege of being Tania’s teammate since 2017, when we both started at the club as pre-20-year-olds—Tania being just 16 at the time. Who would’ve thought she’d be breaking a huge milestone, not just for herself, but as a trailblazer for the women’s program at our wonderful club?
Actually—who am I kidding.. Of course it was going to be Tania. Committed, loyal, unassuming, peaceful Tan. The player who rarely misses a training session. The one who’s stuck by the backline week after week, taking on her responsibilities without fuss. Even when she’s playing on some of the most difficult forwards – and trust me, she’s entitled to throw her hands up sometimes – she never does. She never complains, never dramatizes, never disappoints. With Tania, it’s always business as usual. She’s a player who genuinely just loves the game, her teammates, and the club as a whole.
I’ll never forget during the peak of COVID, when you couldn’t even talk to people you bumped into in public, I headed down to the local footy oval to kick the ball around (just in case the season resumed by that weekend…. Hindsight is a funny thing). Across at the other goals, I spotted a familiar kicking style and a recognisable long, curly, full ponytail. Of course, it was Tania, practicing her goal kicking (don’t forget, she’s notoriously a defender) likely finding solace during lockdown, doing something she loves. Such a pure example of Tania’s unwavering commitment to footy.
It would be remiss of me not to mention my all-time favourite story. Tania, who, like I said, never complains and takes everything in her stride, decided to go off-script in our 2023 grand final. After being heckled by the opposition crowd every time she took a kick-out, Tania looked at the scoreboard deep in the fourth quarter and saw her opportunity. On one of her final kick-outs (which, of course, hit a target—lace out), she turned to the opposition crowd and gave a hand gesture that might still be debatable… it was absolutely rogue, but simply iconic. The footage still gets a standing ovation to this day, the moment we truly cemented our Div 1 flag. Tania wouldn’t have dared flinch otherwise. And with 3 (and a half?) premierships to her name now.. we approve this completely, Tan can do whatever the hell she wants.
Another favourite moment of mine came in 2024, when the leadership group was announced and Tania was named vice-captain. This came as a surprise to only Tania. After I congratulated her, Tania expressed that she “never thought this would happen to her”, behind very proud, emotional eyes. The game we play together is merely just that – a game, and there are moments that mean so much more. This was one of them. And this upcoming weekend will be another.
Tan, on behalf of the Sheagles, I can’t thank you enough for being unapologetically yourself over the past 99 games. You lead by example in ways we all aspire to follow. Thank you also for bringing your wonderful family into our club—it’s obvious where you get your values from. I’ll eat some pretzels on Saturday morning in your honour.
Welcome to the 100 Club!
Lani Pane
We’ve got a big weekend with Tan for her 100th game, a feat not many can boast at this club. But that just goes to show her commitment to this team, legging it from Geelong some days to make it to training. She’s an absolute star on the field, snagging marks, dodging packs, tackling hard and running off the half back with grace. When the ball is near Tan everyone breathes a little easier.
Tania is incredibly humble, the ultimate quiet achiever, I think it took me six months before I could get a word out of her. But since we’ve become mates I know now, she’s not as quiet as you’d think. Especially not at our place at 4am singing karaoke and keeping the coach awake. Or barracking for her mighty Hawks, and dreaming about Massimo D’Ambrosio, a nice Italian boy.
I just know that every time there’s a joke made about her being quiet, Tan’s just sitting there thinking, “wow. Groundbreaking.” But Tan lets her actions do the talking, the ultimate competitor on the field, taking on a 4 vs 1 last Saturday and allegedly flipping the bird to the Beaumaris crowd.
Tan is incredibly kind and loyal, something that everyone recognises as she’s part of the leadership group again and the proud designer of the JAR IT posters. Here’s to your 100 games and can’t wait to run out on the field with you on Saturday.
Billie HArvey
