May 17, 2024
If you ask 15-year-old Poppy Stockwell which sport she prefers out of football or cricket, she will tell you she simply can’t decide.
The extremely talented but modest Kelmscott Senior High student excels in both sporting codes having been selected numerous times to compete against many of the country’s best.
Poppy’s latest achievements in football include representing Western Australia in the under 16s development squad which saw her play against the under 18s state team at Optus Stadium earlier this month.
Her achievements with the ball and bat are enormous too. These include being named as vice captain of the state’s under 15s female team, which played at the Cricket Australia championships in Canberra in February this year as well as being named in the under 18s state team, which played at Bendigo in January this year.
This September Poppy will travel to Brisbane to show off her skills to the representatives at Cricket Australia in the hope of making the Cricket Australia XI women’s side.
Poppy first started playing football when she was seven years old, always donning the yellow and black for local club Roleystone Tigers. Playing the role of forward most of the time she said she liked making great friendships and enjoyed furthering her skills in the fast paced game.
While her cricket career originally started at Roleystone Karragullen Cricket Club, she has since moved to South Perth Cricket Club to further hone her skills.
Former cricket coach Bryan Kennelly said she was the only girl in the team and in the competition when she played in Roleystone Karragullen’s under 14s side.
“She held her own for sure against the boys and even showed a lot of them up,” he said.
When Poppy finishes her schooling career she knows her future is in sport but is unsure of which code she will end up playing.
“I would like to play cricket professionally or be selected in an AFL women’s side,” she said.
