Milestone Games – Round 6 2026

Congratulations to Nicholas Watty, Adam Tomaro, Patrick Bourke, Patrick Lavery and Jennae Wakefield who will all be celebrating milestone games this weekend!

Jennae Wakefield

Jennae “Wizzy” Wakefield, the woman, the myth, the legend. When Wizzy first heard I joined the first preseason of the Sheagles, it was Christmas 2016. She laughed a lot at the name “Sheagles”. Tail between her legs a few weeks later, she asked me for the details to come down and join preseason training. The rest is history!

Wizzy is a club woman, loyal, dedicated, fierce, supportive and forever on your side. While she may have gotten in some altercations before with opponents, she would be more likely to be found stepping in to stick up for someone on her team. She’s been a player, coach, treasurer and committee member, she loves seeing Marcellin succeed.

She’s a good footballer, snags are her favourite but she’s has proven to be handy all around the ground when needed. When it comes to accolades, she’s had a few. Getting the taste for success in the 2017 season with a premiership, kept her coming back for more, chasing that high. She loves to encourage those around her to get the best out of them, she analyses the game to the nth degree. She used to pump me up on the way to a game and then give me a match report after the game, more glowing that I felt I played. She always wanted to keep me coming back for more with her.

Wizzy has never been shy of a sesh with the girls. I’ve gotten a lot of texts in the last almost 10 years, the morning after a night out with “I’m still making my way home, that is, I’m at Sue’s” (thanks Robbo fam for always having a spot for Wiz).

I could hang a bit on Wizzy, she used to come over to my place before training and put her dirty footy boots on the kitchen table, she used to do her uni work at training and pasta night, she used to make spreadsheets about games and selections but she’s grown now and she doesn’t do any of that anymore…or does she?

I’m always impressed by Wizzy, still just as obsessed with footy as she was as a kid, who loved juniors and school footy until she aged out. To be able to play and live out her dreams, what a delight!
Here’s to you Wizzy! 100 of the best.

Laura Melenhorst

Alright everyone, settle in — unlike Wiz’s attention span, this speech might actually last longer than 30 seconds.

Today we celebrate an incredible milestone: 100 games for Wiz.

Now for those who don’t know Wiz — firstly, how? She’s usually the loudest person at the club. And secondly, the nickname “Wiz” obviously comes from “wizard,” which is fitting, because over the years she’s managed to magically avoid stretches, recovery, and occasionally accountability.

100 games. Three premierships. One fake calf injury. And always first on the physio table.

That’s right — while most players rehab injuries to get back onto the field, Wiz allegedly invented one so she could qualify to play in the first women’s game under lights. Which honestly is inspirational in a really morally questionable way.

And look, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Wiz is the oldest player on the team. She turned 30 during COVID, so thankfully there are no official records and we can all just keep guessing from there.

But to be fair, Wiz has basically had a footy in her hands since she could walk. She grew up kicking the footy around, back when girls didn’t really have pathways into AFL, and she even played Under 10s with the boys because that was literally the only option back in her day. Which sounds dramatic, but genuinely, there wasn’t the same opportunity for girls that exists now.

So while we roast her for being ancient, she’s actually part of the generation that helped pave the way for women’s footy to become what it is today. Even if she does now need a full week to recover from a light training session.

Age hasn’t slowed her down though. Mostly because she refuses to pace herself in the first place.

She still attacks the footy with the same energy she attacks a kebab after midnight. And speaking of which — one of the great footy trip achievements of our generation: Byron Bay, where Wiz somehow survived almost exclusively on kebabs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Three meals a day. Just rotating garlic sauce levels like it was a nutritional strategy.

And despite all this, she’s somehow still an elite footballer. Three premierships says everything you need to know. When the game is on the line, Wiz stands up. Usually yelling something chaotic, occasionally at the umpire, sometimes at her own teammates — but she stands up.

One of my all-time core memories of Wiz is the 2018 grand final. She kicks a goal — huge moment. She then immediately turns to make absolutely sure the Fitzroy supporters knew about it. Not a subtle celebration either. Just pure passion, chaos, and “in-your-face” energy. Honestly one of the great demonstrations of passion we’ve ever seen.

She’s also the biggest Melbourne Demons supporter I’ve ever met. Which means she’s spent most of her life building resilience through emotional trauma. In many ways, barracking for Melbourne prepared her perfectly for local footy.

But underneath all the jokes, what really stands out about Wiz is how loyal and dedicated she is.

She’s the kind of person who always shows up for the club, for her teammates, and for the people around her. Whether it’s game day, training, helping out, supporting teammates, or just bringing energy when people need it most — she’s always there.

And this 100th game hasn’t just happened easily either. She’s had to overcome plenty of obstacles to get here, and that’s what makes this milestone even more special. A lot of people would’ve given up along the way, but Wiz kept turning up, kept pushing through, and kept doing what she’s always done — competing hard and backing her teammates.

That resilience is a huge part of who she is. And that’s exactly what Wiz has done. She’s been part of building this club and its culture. She’s helped bring success, she’s brought leadership, laughs, chaos, and probably several committee concerns — but mostly she’s been someone people genuinely love playing alongside.

You don’t fluke 100 games. You earn them.

So while we’ll continue to question her meal choices, her injury history, and whether she actually listens during team meetings, there’s no questioning what she means to this club.

Wiz — congratulations on 100 incredible games. Three flags, countless memories, and a massive impact on everyone at this club.

We’re all incredibly proud of you, and we’re lucky to have you.

Congrats mate.

Maddy Rush