Photo Credit: Daniel Pockett
Today sees a little bit more Melbourne AFLW history made at Victoria Park, with Paxy Paxman set to play her 100th AFLW match against Collingwood this afternoon.
She may not be the first Dee to reach the milestone, but her reaching the milestone is still significant and is still a huge achievement for the fan favourite Dee.
Let us take the opportunity now to look back at the career of the unassuming midfielder/defender to date, and celebrate someone who has become one of the most universally loved Dees.
The beginning
Paxman has a unique story as to how she was recruited to Melbourne’s list ahead of that first AFLW season in 2017, one which players these days will not experience coming through the draft system.
When AFLW lists were initially created clubs had two marquee signings plus some priority picks that they could sign, and Paxman was Melbourne’s one and only priority signing alongside Melissa Hickey and Daisy Pearce as the marquee signings.
Hickey and Pearce were not the only familiar faces for Paxman amongst her new team mates, with that trio three of the six members of the all conquering Darebin Falcons side who were members of Melbourne’s inaugural list.
Longevity in the game
It is hard to have an elite sporting career for as long as Paxman has, but it is a testament to her character and the type of player she is that this is the case.
Paxman is one of only three 2017 listed Dees to still be at the club – alongside Sarah Lampard and Lauren Pearce – and as many fans have noticed over recent seasons Paxman is actually improving as a player with age, perhaps like a fine wine or like Benjamin Button from the 2008 movie ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’.
Not the first 100 game Dee, but still creating a bit of history of her own
Paxman may not be the first Dee to reach 100 AFLW games – that was Kate Hore last week – but Paxman is the first member of Melbourne’s inaugural list to reach the milestone.
By comparison, Lampard currently sits at 85 games ahead of this afternoon’s game, while Pearce is sitting on 88 games.
Ever the humble fan favourite
Despite how talented Paxman is and how highly regarded she is amongst the Melbourne faithful, another characteristic of hers is her humbleness. She is not a big name in media circles – and as such is rarely mentioned in dissections of Melbourne’s games – is rarely the player that media grab for in game or post match chats, and is just not arrogant and flamboyant in any way. She is the type of player that much prefers to fly under the radar and to just let her football do the talking. Although plenty of accolades have rightfully come Paxman’s way over recent years, it could also be argued that she has been forgotten about a bit in wider media circles, despite continuing to be such a crucial member of the Melbourne side to this day.
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