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Lauren Szigeti (prouounced "seeghetea") was born in Melbourne, Victoria, into a family of Australian Hungarian heritage and grew up there supporting the Richmond Football Club.
Both grandparents are Hungarians on her dad's side. Zoltán Szigeti was a very talented canoer in the 50's. He won a gold medal in the K4 1000m event at the 1954 Canoe World Championships in Mâcon, France. Szigeti represented Hungary at the 1956 Summer Olympics. After the Games he didn't come back to Europe, settling in Melbourne. Lauren's grandmother Livia is from a little Hungarian town called Lenti. She migrated in the 1950s also when she was just 19, travelling solo by ship.
Lauren is the elder of 3 siblings. Ryan is 21 and Cara is 19. Their mum is a nurse and their dad is an engineer. She has two dogs called Marlee and Benji. They are very important family members!
She went to high school at Our Lady of Mercy College and also went to Australian Catholic University to get her degree in Paramedicine.
"I haven’t visited Hungary yet but I definitely will one day! I love Hungarian food, my grandma was a great cook and she always cooked traditional Hungarian cuisine. Langos, paprika chicken and goulash were my favourites. I also love cucumber salad. My dad visited Hungary a few years ago and loved it. My cousin also has. I cannot wait to go, I especially would like to go to the Sziget Festival!!! I’m excited to learn more about and be immersed in Hungarian culture."
Lauren began playing football when she was 6 years old. As a child, she played with the boys growing up as there was no girls teams back then.
She also played basketball and tennis but she ended up choosing the footy because of the team environment, tackles and how it mixes so many different skills together.
Szigeti was raised in Melbourne and played competitive football for many teams. Non-exhaustive list: Donvale, Bulleen Templestowe, Sandringham Dragons, Eastern Ranges, Diamond Creek.
In 2015 she represented the Yarra JFL in the Vic Metro Championships Youth Girls Under 16s. This year she was also a member of the Victoria Metro team in National U18YG Championships and played 3 matches for her state.
After the first years, Lauren has played for Darebin Falcons and Hawthorn Women's in VFLW as a midfielder, sometimes forward. Unfortunately she has had many injuries along the way but nothing too big. "Just a couple of fractures and head knocks!" – mentioned Lauren.
After many seasons in Victoria, Szigeti got drafted by Sydney Swans. She made her debut in the first round of the AFLW S7 season against St. Kilda in front of 8264 fans at the North Sydney Oval where showed 11 disposals, eight clearances and four inside 50s. Lauren became the first player to debut as co-captain since the AFLW's first season in 2017.
The first year was a great experience for her and for Sydney. Unfortunately they could not win in their debut season but now they know what a feeling it is to play in AFLW. The Sydney girls definitely can take the first win(s) in this year.
Lauren's message for the Hungarian footy community:
"I love that you guys have found the best sport in the world! There is nothing better than playing footy with friends and I will be following the Bats for sure!"
Written by Gergő Petrányi
Photos:
Sydney Swans
Nemzeti Sport
Lauren Szigeti
Lauren Szigeti
Lauren Szigeti
Jack Thomas/AFL Media
Kelly Defina/AFL Media
Kelly Defina/AFL Photos
Martin Keep/AFL Photos
Matt King/AFL Photos
Lauren Szigeti
Lauren Szigeti
Sarah Reed/AFL Photos
Dylan Burns/AFL Photos
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