Melissa Kuys

Club: St Kilda

Playing Honours:

• Captain of Box Hill 2017

A warrior of Womens Football, Mel was selected by Collingwood in the 2016 AFLW Draft after captaining Knox in the VWFL, leading the team to the Grand Final in Division 1 in 2015.

After a consistent 2017 AFLW Season, Mel was recruited by Box Hill to captain the first ever Womens side for the club which competes in the VWFL. This was testament to Mel's ability to lead her team mates both on and off the field which is so important in building the right culture for the team, as Hawthorn will use it as a transition in hopefully gaining a AFLW licence.

The 2018 season was a solid year for Mel as she used her damaging running ability on the wings to break the game open and drive the team into attack. Mel took this form into her VFLW season, however unfortunately suffered a serious achilles injury in the last part of the season which out her 2019 AFLW season in jeopardy. Mel dedicated herself to her recovery and got herself back into the Collingwood team early in the season which was a terrific reward for effort. At the end of the season, Mel made her way to St Kilda as a Free Agent where she will provide great experience and leadership to there inaugural team.

Away from Football, Mel is a chef and also owns her own Catering company.