She may have the football nickname ‘Bulldog’, but Rachel Paterson is far smarter. She has just become the Rhodes Scholar for 2012.
A member of the Claremont Pirhanas Women’s Football Club, she has played 66 games in the Western Australian Women’s Football League since 2007. Paterson joins an elite and varied group of academics and sportspeople to earn this prestigious study honour.
On the list are few women and only one other listed as having played AFL.
Paterson joins current Chairman of the AFL Commission, Mike Fitzpatrick, as only the second recipient to list themselves as AFL players. There’s a variety of neurophysiologists, poets, naval intelligence researchers, Olympians, anti-apartheid activists, politicians and now an AFL playing medical scientist.
An unsuccessful applicant in 2010 but being a bulldog by nature Paterson knuckled down to intense study in 2011 and was the panel’s choice for the 2012 study scholarship that sees her able to pursue her DPhil in Infection Immunology and Translational Medecine at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
One of the first things Paterson got excited about was the opportunity to start up an AFL team at Oxford. “I am so passionate about my football that it makes sense to establish a team or competition to I can keep that part of my lifestyle going,” Paterson said when asked what she was looking forward to being a Rhodes Scholar.
Paterson’ football involvement has been a massive part of her study-life balance during the last 5 years. “I’ve played for the Claremont Pirhanas for 5 years now and just love the game and the club.” ‘Bulldog’ is a 50+ games veteran, has been a member of the state women’s team twice, an inaugural member of the Female Talent Academy and is also an active committee member.
She started her football career in Bunbury as a schoolgirl footballer playing 3 seasons before shifting to the city to pursue her medical career. She won Claremont’s Rookie of the Year Award in her first year before going on to win their Fairest and Best twice.
She has also helped the University of Western Australia establish a female team for the annual National University games as well as heading back to her rural secondary school to promote women’s football.
“Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School and Claremont have played in pre-season weekend games to give each of us practice leading into the season," she said.
"It’s great to see the young girls in Bunbury come through to play and these games give them a connection to the next step should they relocate to Perth.”
So don’t be surprised if you hear of an Oxford v Cambridge female challenge in AFL in the next few years if Paterson has anything to do with growing the game whilst she’s studying.
