The NSW Youth Girls will be making the trip down south this weekend to
Canberra in the Interstate Challenge. This year the Girls face a new opponent
known as the Canberra Winter! The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a minimum
of -2 degrees to a maximum of 12 degrees in sunny conditions. The correspondent
knows the Girls will be running just as hard on the football field to keep warm
as they are to chase the ball!
In the Under 15’s game starting at 12:30pm, the NSW girls will be keen
to square the series. Last year the match was the ACT winning by 13 points. In
the Illawarra region, Youth Girls is a combined age group so the girls on a
weekly basis play against older opponents whereas in the ACT there is two
separate competitions for the Under 15 and Under 18 girls. For 11 out of the 20
in the team aged 15, this will be there last opportunity in the Under 15’s
jumper before being eligible to play in the Under 18’s team next year. Coach
Lancelot Yu who is the team manager of the Sydney Women’s Bondi Shamrocks side
is happy with the progress of the team at training.
“We
think we have done enough work at training to equip the girls to achieve their
maiden victory at the Under 15’s level. I have been very
enthusiastic about all the players’ attitudes at training. It’s been a bit
disrupted at training with the rain abandoning two of our sessions but the
girls have been resilient at training. The girls come from five club teams who
battle each other every Sunday but they have united as one on Monday nights. I
really like to thank my two assistant coaches in Tony Johnstone and Shane
Grenfell for conducting drills for me, to ensure that each girl in the team has
received individualized attention that they all deserve at this level. I think
that our two co-captains Madeline Johnstone (Kiama Power) and Talarah Bell
(Shellharbour Swans) has the universal respect of all their teammates and will
lead by example on Saturday. Whilst we hope for victory, our main objective is
to ensure that our girls have the best opportunity to push for national
selection and reach their full potential.”
The eight girls who played in last year’s game are very keen to restore
the pride in the NSW Jersey and right the result from last year. Tayla Graham (Albion
Park Crows) who is one of the forwards for the NSW team when interviewed said:
“Last year’s game was pretty full on and it was my first year playing
footy ... well most of us actually, but now we have more skills. I have become
closer to all the girls, and I’m pretty sure we can pull through on a win with our
team work, skills, dedication and determination of NSW to beat ACT at their
home”.
In contrast the ACT Under
15’s game has 12 of their 18 players returning. ACT U15’s Coach Rebecca Goddard is expecting another tough match this
year and believes her team has what it takes to retain their Interstate
Challenge title: "The
girls have been training well with the U18’s team so this will help them come
game day having trained with older more experienced and physical players"
Goddard said. "We have a
good mix of experienced players who played in last year’s Challenge as well as
some new players who have been performing well for the club in the AFL Canberra
Youth Girls Competition this year. I think we have a good balance so I expect
our team to perform well" said Goddard.
In
the senior game at 2pm, it is the NSW Girls keen to keep their unbeaten record.
Last year the Senior Side convincingly wiped out the ACT by 40 points. ACT
U18’s Coach, Sarah McFarlane, who coached both ACT teams last year, says she
and her team are better prepared for the physicality of NSW this year: "I think the physical toughness of NSW last
year caught us off guard a bit. The girls have had another season of footy
under their belt since then and are better prepared for a tough game on Saturday.
We have a couple of girls who actually play in the AFL Canberra Women’s
Competition so they will be well prepared for a tough game" McFarlane
said. The ACT side has 9 players from that game and three who had played in the
Under 15’s game.
The NSW side
is coached by Lisa “Kiwi” Roper who is the Interim Coach of the Sydney Women’s
Bondi Shamrocks team. She is also currently the NSW head of the Talented Player
Programme. Meanwhile U18’s Coach Lisa “Kiwi” Roper
is well aware that the ACT U18’s will be out for revenge after going down to
NSW last year in what was a very physical encounter. “We have a great mix of
girls in our U18’s, a couple of new players as well as some girls that played
NSW U15’s in 2009. We also have some
girls that have played under development in the Sydney Women’s (SWAFL)
Competition so they will be well prepared for a tough game” says Roper. The
NSW side captained by Madison Giffin (Figtree Kangaroos) has 7 players from
last year’s game but have 6 players from the under 15’s game. Jessie Mulholland
(Figtree Kangaroos) who played in last year’s game said: “All the girls are really
looking forward to playing this weekend and defending the title. All though
some girls are nervous, being their first time playing in the state team but
they know that their team mates will back them up, help them out and look after
them. We’re prepared for a tough match but hopefully will come out on top.”
NSW Team
manager Dawn Giffin previews the weekend as: “This
is absolutely fabulous for Girls that are playing AFL at that higher
level. The NSW Youth Girls
representative program in its second year now and includes girls from the
Illawarra, Kiama, Nowra, Campbelltown and Liverpool. Our girls are loving it”
says Dawn Giffin, administrator and manager for the NSW squad.
Last Modified on 02/07/2010 12:30