Mother’s Day: Mum tackles daughter in Mullewa Saints vs Chapman Valley Royals GNFL match

A Geraldton mother was forced to put aside her protective instincts last week when she played against her daughter for the first time in the GNWFL at Mazzuchelli Oval. In the fourth quarter, 38-year-old Natalie Ofa played full-forward for Chapman Valley while her 20-year-old daughter Trinity Ofa played as forward flank for Mullewa. All her experience in physical sport still didn’t prepare Natalie for the guilt that came after tackling her daughter. “That was the first time we’ve ever played against each other, it was fun until I tackled her and winded her and then I felt really bad,” the mother-of-three said. “I stopped and just checked in with her. I told her to breathe and put her hands up and that she was fine. “It’s funny because your relationship jumps straight in and I was thinking, ‘oh my gosh, she’s gonna give me so much crap after this, she’s gonna be so angry’, but later on, I went to go for a goal and then she tackled me.” Natalie said it was a bonding experience, despite being on different teams it was a win for them both, and Trinity even bought her a celebratory drink after the game. “We don’t realise as parents the transition from having young kids and you always being their world and when they’re older, that transition from them not needing you as much, I think that’s actually the hardest era in parenting in a lot of ways,” Natalie said. She said learning to accept that your children were growing up wasn’t often talked about. “When they all initially left it was such a massive change and that’s one of the reasons I got back into sport,” she said. “You find you’re all about your kids, you take them to sports, you do everything your kids do, and that becomes your life. Then when your kids leave, you’re like, holy heck, who am I? So changing and learning who you are as a human without being a mum is a massive change. “For mums who’ve got kids that are around that age, find yourself, find something that you like, get into sport because there’s so many other people out there that can fill that spot.” For Mother’s Day on Sunday, Natalie said she was looking forward to a relaxing day, starting out with breakfast in bed and a trip to the markets. “Trinity loves cooking, so I do appreciate that, she often does a really good breakfast spread. Pancakes is my thing, everyone loves pancakes, and just chill with the kids,” she said.