EXCLUSIVE
A Victorian country footballer has been denied a fairytale finals berth after recovering from a deadly brain tumour.
AJ Mills was on the sidelines for Echuca’s Goulburn Valley Football League semi-final against Rochester on Sunday because he was denied an exemption to play by the league.
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Players need to have played three home and away games throughout the year to qualify for finals.
Mills was diagnosed with a grade-four IDH-mutant astrocytoma brain tumour in March, removing footy as a priority in his life while he focused on his health.
A grade-four IDH-mutant astrocytoma is an aggressive, malignant, and high-grade brain tumor which grows rapidly, and has low survival rates.
Just weeks before the diagnosis, Mills had played in a practice match for Carlton’s VFL side.
Incredibly, Mills returned to play two games before the GVFL finals and, though he did not play the required number of games to qualify for finals, thought he would get an exemption, as Echuca’s Troy Murphy explained.
“AJ should be running out for his beloved Echuca Football Netball Club, but sadly that opportunity has been taken from him because of the crazy world we live in,” he said.
“Since (the diagnosis), the Mills family has been through hell. After two surgeries, six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, things began to improve. AJ now faces 12 months of ongoing chemo.
“The prognosis for this type of brain cancer is devastatingly poor, with survival rates unchanged for the last 30 years. Yet AJ’s strength has shone through.
“When I visited him at Royal Melbourne Hospital in March, he was walking the corridors bouncing a football — the game he loves becoming his greatest motivator. All he wanted was to get back on the field with his mates, the same mates who have supported him every step of this journey.
“Around 8-10 weeks ago, AJ returned to training. After due care and diligence, he was passed medically and physically fit to play. On August 16, he made his long-awaited return in the Echuca reserves. That day was one of the most emotional in footy — there wasn’t a dry eye in sight, and AJ had the biggest smile of all.
“He had finally reached the goal he had worked so hard for. The following week, he stepped up and played seniors in Round 18.
“But now it gets tricky. Under Goulburn Valley League rules, clubs can apply for an exemption if players haven’t met finals qualification but have missed six consecutive matches due to illness or injury.
“Despite AJ meeting the requirements, and despite clearance from his doctors — one being one of Australia’s leading neurosurgeons — the league denied his exemption.”
The GVFL declined to comment on the matter when contacted by www.20304050.best, other than to confirm that Mills’s application for an exemption had been denied.
Murphy said it was a shattering blow for the 23-year-old young star.
“The letter presented to the Mills family stated AJ would be cleared to start pre-season later this year and play in 2026. Yet AJ’s diagnosis will not change in the next few months,” he said.
“This is not about football. This is not about winning. This is about a young man’s life, his well-being, and his mental health.
“While so much work is being done in the mental health space, this decision feels like another cruel blow to AJ and his family. It’s simply not fair.”
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