Girls from across Western Victoria gathered on Wednesday in the first of a series of try-out sessions for the country under 16 V/Line cup team.
The session was the beginning of a selection process for the V/Line Cup to be held at the end of September.
AFL Goldfields Female Football manager Krista Woodroffe said the day was useful in assessing the improvement of players in the region.
“With the inter league competitions, under 18 and under 16 championships, they sort of coincide this year so a lot of the girls are off playing there,” she said.
“The girls who we need to have a really good look at, we have decided to get come and play today just so we can see where they are at with their footy and how they are playing.
“From here we will get together and arrange the side for the V/Line cup carnival later on this year.”
Woodroffe said the development of junior girls football was evident during the game.
“It is great to see girls that are coming through from junior footy and some girls that haven’t even played football before but are elite athletes in their own sports and are transitioning really well into the game,” she said.
Woodroffe said the region is full of talent.
“We are really excited to watch not only the girls from the Ballarat region but also around Ararat and Stawell,” she said.
AFL Victoria’s Alan Thompson said the day was a good opportunity to see girls football talent in the region.
“It was good to give the girls a chance to play and show what they’ve got,” he said.
“The score wasn’t important on the day, what mattered was seeing the improvement of girls football.”
The squad is brimming with talent, and will introduce more skillful players who were unable to participate due to other representative commitments.
Woodroffe said it is symptomatic of the successful AFLW season.
“In our Goldfields competition we had 25 sides last year and we are up to 38 this year, so we have expanded by almost 30 per cent in female footballers,” she said.
“Coming from juniors, there is going to be a continuous influx of female footballers over the next few years.”
Woodroffe said that she can see a handful of players making it to the elite level from around the area.
“There are potential AFLW players here.”
