Tara Murray
Louis Rowe thought his football days were over after an accident left him a paraplegic at the age of 22.
Not into wheelchair tennis or basketball, Rowe just stopped playing sports. That was until an Inastrgram post got his attention.
“I had played footy as a kid and up until the age of 22,” he said.
“I only ever just played footy. In 2017 I saw a few photos on instagram of people playing wheelchair footy and got in touch with AFL Victoria.
“They got me in touch with the league.”
The posts would change Rowe’s life in more than one way. He would take up the sport and later become the captain of the Essendon Bombers in the Victorian Wheelchair Football League.
Rowe said one of the biggest things for him was being able to get back out and play sport with your mates.
“It was amazing,” he said. “As soon as I got out there, the adrenaline was pumping and playing sports again.
“It was a great feeling to get back out there and it inspires me in other parts of my life.”
Wheelchair football has a lot of the same rules as normal football, but just adjusted to make it work.
The game is played on a basketball court with five players on at a time. Each player has different zones they’re allowed into.
There is no kicking, with handballing classified as what a kick would be in normal football, with marks being paid after a handball.
An underarm throw is allowed and treated like a handball in the normal game. There is also tackling, which is touching the opponent with prior opportunity paid.
Scoring is the same as in normal football, with goals and points at each end of the court.
The Bombers have made the grand final the last two seasons, but just fallen short. Rowe said he hopes that it will be third time lucky this year.
He said it was an honour to play and captain the Bombers. This competition started in 2019, with five clubs.
“I live in the west,” he said. “I came into the sport before the league came about.
“A few guys have been with us for five years now and are big Essendon fans.
“We train every Thursday night. The VFLW [Victorian Football League Women’s] train at the same time, as does the VFL.
“We get the odd AFL player getting round and few cafes and club people there. You go past the premierships cups on the well and are really immersed in the club.”
The competition is expanding, with each club to play in a development match as well each round. There is also interest from other clubs to join.
Essendon is hosting a come and try day on March 16 at the Hangar from 6pm.
Rowe encourages anyone interested to come and try out the sport.
“There’s a lot of people who are similar to me that haven’t play sport since their injury or ever.
“You become more confident. Chairs will be provided on the night. It doesn’t matter your, age gender or skill level, we can make it work for you.”
Details: bit.ly/3tMV0Te
