Supporting every goal

We open on an extreme close-up of a little girl’s face; Tully. Her brow is furrowed in concentration, her jaw clenched tight. Tully takes a deep breath, and the noise comes sharply into focus, pulling us back into the real world - which in this case, is the cacophony of a hotly contested Saturday morning NAB AFL Auskick match. As we hear other kids calling out to her and spectators cheering from the sidelines, her eyes swivel to the right.

We see a teammate gesturing toward the goal with encouragement.

In a flash, we’re transported back to a previous game. Tully is lining up a shot at the big sticks. She pulls the kick and it bounces hard off the left post.

Back in the current moment, Tully blinks her eyes hard. She twirls the ball in her hands like she’s seen Daisy Pearce do, which transitions us into another flashback moment: an awkward drop punt that wobbles away in the wrong direction. 

Then again: A blustery gust of Melbourne wind blows her kick off course.

In the present day: Tully adjusts her ponytail and grimaces. We see her dad watching from the sidelines, gripping the 

bench in front of him so hard you’d think it was trying to escape.

We see her face - jaw set, eyes narrow. You can almost hear the Rocky theme playing in her head. She starts her run up, before her boot meets the ball with a 'thwack' that echoes across the oval. As the Sherrin takes flight, we cut back tight on Tully to see her head tilting to the left, willing it telepathically along the correct path. In the stands, Dad does the same.

The ball sails through. GOAL!

For a heartbeat, our champion stands stock-still, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Then she's engulfed by a tsunami of tiny teammates. 

Dad explodes off the bench, his cheer scattering pigeons and sending a bucket of hot chips skyward.

The wave of celebration ripples outward like a stone in a pond. Parents, bored siblings and opposition supporters begin to cheer enthusiastically, feeding off the building energy.

Across the road, we see a giant dog’s ears prick up. We cut back wider to see them nearly yank their baffled, puffer-clad owner off her feet as it excitedly bolts for the oval.

As the dog drags its owner across the street, a car stops to let them pass. The driver looks curiously out the window, craning his neck to try to get a better view towards the footy ground. We cut back to the oval, where throngs of people have flocked to the field, surrounding Tully in celebration. We hear car horns beeping wildly offscreen, evoking the sound of supporters at a country AFL match.

We cut to the relative quiet of a small streetside cafe. A waiter turns with a tray of pastries, blinks in confusion at the suddenly empty seats, only to spot his customers sprinting down the street.

We follow the group as they join crowds of other people running excitedly towards the oval. AFLW star Katie Brennan suddenly joins the fray from a side street, sprinting athletically to the front of the pack.

At the edge of the field, people pour through the gates and over the barrier. One guy notices the traditional sausage sizzle setup off to one side, and veers away. A tinkle of two dollar coins, a quick nod exchanged, and he’s back on his way, trying to eat the hot sausage as he runs.

We see an overhead shot of the oval, people streaming across it in what looks like their thousands - reminiscent of Buddy Franklin’s famous thousandth-goal celebration.

Back on the ground, we see our pint-sized champion who’s been hoisted aloft on her adoring fans shoulders.

From amongst the crowd, she spots Buddy Franklin and catches his eye.

We cut in close to Buddy as he gives her a knowing little smile.

We cut back to our hero, Tully, who returns with a cool nod, from atop the shoulders of her supporters.

VO: Supporting every goal from NAB AFL Auskick to the big time.

SUPER: NAB + AFL + AFLW + Auskick Logos

END FRAME: NAB More than Money