Essendon celebrated its relationship with the Australian Paralympic Committee on Wednesday when James Stewart took on elite table tennis player Melissa “Milly” Tapper at The Hangar.

Tapper represented Australia twice in the Paralympics (2012 and 2016) and once at the Olympics (2016) before becoming the first Australian table tennis player taking home a gold medal at this year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

The APC shares Essendon’s elite facilities at Tullamarine, and Tapper said the connection is extremely helpful for both parties.

“It’s so valuable for our team to be able to come here and practice and prepare for events and being able to be all in one spot is a massive benefit,” Tapper said.

“Getting to see the boys themselves about the place and doing their thing as well, it’s not only great for us, but I think it’s fantastic for them to as well see a bit of a different side of sport too.”

Tapper said being around other elite athletes provides her with endless chances to learn and develop.

“Having the opportunity to actually get to speak to other athletes from different sports and especially those that are so highly skilled in their chosen sport, there’s so much you can continuously learn.

“I’ve been playing table tennis for 20 years now, but I still have so much I can gain from everyone.

“So just having the ability to have access to other athletes as well is a massive key.

“Everyone has different experiences and whether it’s just one thing or two things that you can take away from it, it’s definitely an improvement.”

While Stewart admitted he “couldn’t really return a serve” on the receiving end of Tapper’s sublime skills, he said it is great to be able to engage with other sportspeople.

“I think we can draw inspiration from them. They work incredibly hard, they’re training the same hours, if not more, as us in at the club sometimes,” Stewart said.

“I definitely am inspired by people like Milly and the things she’s achieved over her career.

“With the facility we have here at Essendon, we’ve got just about everything you need in one building.”

Bomber TV was there to see how Stewart fared against Tapper and you can see the video above.