AUSTRALIAN EMUS CALL-UP A LONG TIME COMING FOR TOUCH FOOTY VETERAN

After three decades trying, Tramayne has earned her first Australian Emus Touch Football call-up. Photo supplied

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“When I saw that my coach was calling, I knew I had to sit down for either the good news or the bad news,” recalls touch football stalwart Tramayne Horan.

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The mother of two had been lacing up the boots for 33 years before that phone call in July—yet a national call-up had always eluded her.

By the time she hung up the phone, she had broken the duck.

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Tramayne will don green and gold for the first time at next month’s Asia Pacific Seniors Touch Cup (APSTC) in Japan, where she’ll represent the Australian Emus Touch Football Women’s 40s squad.

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The Ayr State High School teacher was named in a squad of 16—selected from a broader pool of 30—that will take on teams from across the Asia-Pacific region.

Tramayne, one of 63 debutants across Australian teams, said it was “pure elation and gratitude” upon learning of her selection to the squad.

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“I felt fit and I felt fast but I didn’t have the game knowledge and the experience that some of the other women had, so it was 50-50,” she said.

“I just never really thought [my call-up] would happen this late in life.”

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Tramayne was just 13 when she first took up the sport. Two years later, she was already a shadow member of the Queensland state team.

She went on to represent the Wide Bay district, Central Queensland Bulls and North Queensland Cyclones before playing for clubs in Brisbane and the Gold Coast while studying.

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The experienced utility has since landed at Brothers A Grade Women’s in Townsville, earning selection in the Queensland Women’s 40s State of Origin team last year.

Now set to go one better, Tramayne said she heads to Japan with a “clear mind,” eager to showcase her trademark agility, acceleration and communication skills.

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She said "playing brave” will give her and her team the best chance of success.

“I know it might seem cliché—saying to be brave,” she said.

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“But it’s for tactical reason that if our players make brave decisions and commit to them in both attack and defence, it allows the rest of the team time to make early decisions or moves off the back of that.”

With the women’s regular season done and dusted, Tramayne plans to work out at home and play in local competitions in preparation for the tournament.

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She admitted that finding the motivation to train individually was challenging, with two active sons another element to juggle.

While she said it was “tricky” playing football away from them multiple times a year—often interstate—her supportive family and partner Jarrod help to “balance out” her commitments.

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Tramayne hopes her athletic achievements can help inspire her boys and other young aspirants.

“No matter your geographical location, anyone with enough determination can make it,” she said.

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