Western Bulldogs visit has young 'tales' wagging for exclusive event

Treloar was one of five Bulldogs taking centre stage for the annual Bulldogs Read launch, which boasts a record nine schools and 161 pupils set to share book reviews.

There was plenty of footy talk and Taylor Swift chat - children were quick to note Treloar and teammate Jason Johannisen were sporting Swift-trend friendship bracelets.

For the child who wanted to check if they were a Weetbix Kid - Johannisen prefers coffee in the morning and Treloar is all about Fruit Loops.

But the program launch was primarily about getting participants excited to read.

Turns out, Treloar is a lectiophile, too.

"I just think being able to come out here and speak to kids is great," Treloar said. "A lot of the time when an individual comes and talks it's to a big group. It's nice to speak more one-on-one.

"In my experience at school, I liked reading and socialising about books. Personally, I think it's really important."

This is Treloar's second season in the Bulldogs Read program. Johannisen is a new recruit to the program in which players will share video calls with participants to talk about what they are reading.

Bulldogs Read is exclusive to Ballarat.

Sebastopol primary's grade 5/6 class literacy levels improved in 2023, the school's first year in the program, from only one-quarter of the class reading and writing at level or above to only two children working below level by the year's end.

When The Courier visited the class, most pupils had been surprised that footballers read books.

Sebastopol Primary School principal Michelle Wilson said seeing role models up close and reading books was so important for children and she was proud Sebastopol was back in the program for a second year.

"This is great promotion for sustained reading, without judgement," Ms Wilson said. "This promotes picking up a book and relaxing a bit - a book can take you to another world."

Western Bulldogs' AFLW recruit Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner has plenty of reading ahead of her while juggling year 12 with her football.

"My school is really flexible...I'm blessed. The club is aware of my school work and my school is aware of football so in the pre-season I am where I need to be," Weston-Turner said.

"It's great meeting all the kids here and they're so excited.

"I do have a lot of reading when I'm at school and it's hard to find time to read for fun but I enjoyed reading growing up."

Weston-Turner was joined by AFLW teammates Rylie Wilcox and Heidi Woodley for the launch.

Bulldogs Read launch was part of a two-day AFL Community Camp in Ballarat. This featured a bumper program of school visits on Thursday, February 22.

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