Name: Mel Staunton 
 
Age: 17 
 


Hometown: Ulladulla 


Local Club: Ulladulla Dockers 

Position: Midfield

Year that you joined the GIANTS Academy: 2022 


Favourite GIANTS Player
: Tarni Evans 

What do you enjoy the most about being part of the GIANTS Academy? 

The Academy has been the best thing for me to join as a football player. It’s such an amazing program to be a part of as it pushes and challenges you to reach limits you never thought you could achieve. The whole atmosphere and passion expressed from all the staff and coaches is incredible and I’m so grateful to have such passionate coaches that will back you 100% of the time. What I enjoy most is how willing people are to see you succeed and how open they are to helping you achieve your goals. 
 
What do you pride yourself on as a player?

I pride myself on being a passionate team player and how motivated I am to be the best. AFL is not an individual sport and it never will be. You have to be a team player for it all to work and that’s why I love this sport. I pride myself on work ethic and striving to be the best at whatever I do.
 
What ACT Female Head Coach Michael Horne says:

“Mel was identified by some of our South Coast GIANTS program coaching staff as a possible addition to the Academy from Ulladulla in early in 2022. From the outset Mel displayed a fantastic work ethic and attitude along with a super competitive approach in contested drills. Mel plays a physical brand of football with her strong tackling ability a feature. We are a excited with Mel’s inside ball getting ability and solid skillset by hand and foot."