Youth Girls Football will take centre stage this weekend and over the coming week as the Sapphire Coast AFL send a handful of excited players to the Youth Girls State Cup in Bateu Bay over the 23-25th of September and the National indigenous & multicultural kickstart championships to be held in Shepparton, Victoria from the 26th-30th of September.
Six girls from the Sapphire Coast AFL's victorious youth girls side from the Shoalhaven Junior Carnival will travel to Bateau Bay today to strut their stuff against the best youth girls players in the state as they combine with AFL South Coast and AFL Canberra in the Development Division of the carnival.
'With the carnival being in its fifth year it is really exciting that we have been able to be flexible and join with the likes of the South Coast and Canberra to enable our girls the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the state. Being our first year it will also draw the attention of GWS Giants and state staff in the lead up to the inaugural national women's competition' Football Operations Coordinator Jarrod Moore noted.
Tathra/Bega's Tarni Evans and Kaela Kull, Bermagui's Katlyn Scott, Mikayla Shaw and Grace Gowing as well as Eden's Hayley Spink will be hoping to gel quickly with their new teammates as they take on Sydney Harbour, Northern NSW and Western Sydney in the three day event.
'With female football and female sport going from strength to strength these types of events enable the league to offer female footballers a great experience and showcase how far the Sapphire Coast AFL's women's competition has come in one season thanks to alot of hard work from clubs involved. We wish the girls the best of luck and know that they will be giving it 100%'. Moore concluded.
814 kilometres away in Shepparton, Victoria, Narooma's Rhani Booth and Chenoa Lyons-Mongta will take the field for the NSW/ACT indigenous youth girls side during the kickstart championships. The championships sees the next generation of indigenous and multicultural talent take the field to achieve national glory. The NSW/ACT side will be looking to upset some of the powerhouse states in Victoria, South Australia and the NT.
'This carnival will be a great opportunity for the girls to be apart of the state talent structure and experience first hand the professionalism of the code at the highest level for junior footballers. There will be alot of excitement in the region for the championships which will also be occuring during grand final week. Being able to represent your state at any level is always a priviledge and exciting and the girls will do great.' Moore said.
ACT/SC Youth Girls State Cup Squad
Sarah Assad (Auburn, Sydney)
Kiara Camilleri (Kiama, Illawarra)
Serena Cooper (Albion Park, Illawarra)
Velvet Cooper-Smith (Albion Park, Illawarra)
Abigail Downie (Wollongong Lions, Illawarra)
Tarni Evans (Tathra/Bega, Sapphire)
Grace Gowing (Bermagui, Sapphire)
Mathilde Henderson (Ainslie, Canberra)
Rayan Hussein (Auburn, Sydney)
Kaela Kull (Tathra/Bega, Sapphire)
Nesrine Metleg (Auburn, Sydney)
Ariana Morgan (Eastlake, Canberra)
Annaliese Pratley (Eastlake, Canberra)
Ellie Priest (Wollongong Saints, Illawarra)
Katlyn Scott (Bermagui, Sapphire)
Mikayla Shaw (Bermagui, Sapphire)
Hayley Spink (Eden, Sapphire)
Bernadette Turner (Wollongong Saints, Illawarra)
Victoria Turner (Wollongong Saints, Illawarra)
Kristelle Westbrook (Batemans Bay, Shoalhaven)
Jenny Wilson (Shellharbour, Illawarra)
