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Both their fathers became household names in the AFL – one a three-time premiership champion, the other an aerial threat who will live on in highlight reels.
But now it is time for the daughters to step into the spotlight, as Sunny and Meg Lappin seek to take over the women’s game and forge their own paths to greatness.
Sunny’s father, Matthew, managed 251 games for St Kilda and Carlton, while his cousin – Meg’s father, Nigel – won three-straight titles with the Lions from 2001 to 2003 and eventually captained the side from 2007 to 2008.
Georja Davies, Alannah Welsh, Ava Usher, Sunny Lappin and Dekota Baron were all taken early in the draft by the Suns.Credit: AFL Photos
The claim to fame Matthew will most be remembered for was his 1999 mark of the year gong for a goal-line “specky”.
“He brought it up a bit recently when people stopped talking about him as much,” Sunny laughed when asked if Matthew often mentioned his famous grab.
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“He likes to think I’ve got something in there, but I haven’t really shown it any time recently. I’d love to jump on someone’s shoulders at some point, but I’ll have to see.
“The second the AFLW started up, Dad threw me into a club, and that was when it sort of clicked for me that it is in my blood, I’ve got something about me that I’ve inherited from somewhere … I’m built for this.”
But although the Surfers Paradise junior would have been eligible for a father-daughter selection, she decided to enter Monday’s AFLW draft as a Gold Coast Suns Academy prospect, with her dad telling her to “pick what felt right and decide where I was going to play my best footy, not what anyone else was trying to tell me”.
The Glitter Strip outfit ultimately matched Adelaide’s bid for the talented midfielder at pick No.4, having finished as the best and fairest runner-up at this year’s AFL National Championships.
Sunny was one of eight draftees to join the Suns’ ranks – Ava Usher (No.7), Georja Davies (No.9), Alannah Welsh (No.12), Mikayla Nurse (No.13), Dekota Baron (No.15), Bronte Parker (No.32), and Rhianna Ingram (No.44) – all academy talents seeking to salvage a side that has claimed just three wins in the past two seasons.
Those draftees have been the byproduct of a participation surge for Aussie rules in Queensland, with almost a quarter of this year’s record total of 625,000 players nationally being girls and women – second behind Victoria.
“There were so many different things that went into my decision, seeing as it was probably the biggest decision I’ll have to make in my life for a very long time. But ultimately, it came down to family and friends, and being able to stay home,” Sunny said when asked why she settled on the Suns rather than one of her father’s clubs.
“To experience something so special to me, I think I needed to be somewhere I was comfortable, where I knew, and to be able to play with all the same girls I’ve been playing with through the academy and junior footy. It’s something not many other people get, and I wasn’t going to let that go.
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“Of course, there were heartstrings that tied me there [to Matthew’s clubs], and I have my own personal connection with them. But ultimately, I think I made the best decision for myself.
“I was never going to really make everybody happy.”
Meg, meanwhile, who was snaffled by the Brisbane Lions as pick No.54, became the first father-daughter pick in the club’s history, arriving as a tall defender having plied her trade for the Geelong Falcons. Father Nigel is currently an assistant coach with the Geelong Cats.
Meg will join a team eager to avenge their grand final heartache to the Kangaroos, the defeat making it their fifth loss from seven attempts at the same hurdle.
“When Meg is around the ball, she displays great instincts for fighting through traffic and making good decisions,” Lions AFLW list manager Michael Swann said.
“We think she is going to develop really quickly as part of our system here at the Lions.”
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