Sport / Football
Brunswick twins wear Big V with pride
Twins chosen to represent Victoria at national junior football championships
Mark Phillips
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A Brunswick brother and sister will record a unique achievement this week when they both run out for Victoria at national junior football championships in Canberra.
Jack and Abby Halpin are twins who play in the under-12 mixed team at Brunswick Dragons Junior Football Club.
Such is their prowess on the footy field that they have each been selected for the Victorian boys and girls under-12s squads at the School Sport Australia 12&U AFL Championships which began on Monday.
They are believed to be the first brother and sister twins from the same local club to be selected in the boys and girls Team Vic AFL squads in the same year.
Jack and Abby are both in Grade 6 at St Joseph’s Primary School in Brunswick West and started learning football at the Saturday morning Ausick program at Gillon Oval when they were seven.
Jack is a ruck and centre half-forward and Abby plays wing and half-back flank.
They attended several tryouts to be selected for their Victorian squads for the national championships.
“It’s been a lot of hard work with all that time that we had to travel across Melbourne for training but it’s been very rewarding and I’m very proud of them both,” said their mother, Kathy Halpin.
Both twins are avid Collingwood supporters but football is not their only sport: Jack plays basketball and cricket and Abby plays basketball, cricket and futsal.
The under-12 championships are a round robin tournament held over a week beginning on Monday. Both boys’ and girls’ opening matches are against Northern Territory.
The boys’ championships were first held in 1923 but began at under-12 level in 1981. Girls have only been able to participate for the past five years.
“Even though there are two playing fields side by side, the good thing about it is that their matches don’t ever clash because the boys and girls don’t play at the same time, so I can get to watch both of them,” Kathy said.
It also means that Jack and Abby can be on the sidelines cheering on their twin when they are playing.
Victoria and South Australia have dominated over the history of the tournament with 20 titles each at under-12 level.
The SSA championships are a proven breeding ground for future stars, with GWS Giants’ Rising Star nominee Riley Hamilton – who played for the ACT under-12s team in 2018 – the most recent AFL debutant.
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