THE local football landscape will look a little different in 2022 with the development of the very first girls’ junior football competition to be based in the Swan Hill region.
The new competition will be run under the AFL Central Victoria banner, and will be open to girls aged eight to fourteen.
Expressions of interest were sent out to all clubs earlier this year, with five clubs committing to entering teams in the league for 2022, with one other club still a possibility to confirm their intention of joining them.
Football development manager for AFL Central Victoria David Alderuccio was suitably excited by the announcement, telling The Guardian that this is a very proud moment for football in our region.
“I think the timings right – the fact that the AFLW are expanding their competition and we’re seeing a lot more resources going into the NAB Girls League and academies, I think the time’s right that we start our own competition here,” Alderuccio said.
“How it will look in the next twelve months, who knows – it may look a lot different, it may look a lot bigger, we just have to wait and see, but so far, the clubs have embraced it and I reckon there’ll be a few more clubs wanting to come on board soon enough.”
While still in the preliminary stages of planning, it was confirmed that the games will be played on Sundays for premiership points, with each round of matches to all be played at the one venue to help ease the burden on volunteers as well as create a healthy atmosphere.
The competition will also begin with a twelve versus twelve format as opposed to the traditional eighteen players per side, with matches to be played on modified grounds in the competitions infancy. Although twelve players will constitute a team, there will also be flexibility around teams who may have more than twelve players available, according to Alderuccio.
“It’s hopefully going to be a bit of a transition type of competition, where girls who come out of Auskick will then go into the girl’s junior football league,” Alderuccio said.
“From there, they can then progress into the Woorinen Youth Girls team and then onto the Kerang Women’s team if they wish, so there is now a local pathway for all age groups.”
“If down the track we have an abundance of girls around that sixteen to seventeen age bracket, then we may even look into adding a second competition.”
With the fledgling competition coming under the Central Victoria banner, it’s hoped that will entice more clubs from different leagues to join and enter a team, with the competition open to not only Central Murray or Golden Rivers Football Netball League Clubs, but all clubs right across the Central Victoria region.
“We’ve been successful in obtaining some funding through AFL Victoria and the AFL and that will help us really support the clubs in terms of start-up costs and equipment and will give them every opportunity to make it as professional as possible,” Alderuccio said.
“We don’t want clubs putting teams in and at the same time being out of pocket – so we’re supporting them as much as we can with equipment and the costs.”
“Additionally, if any businesses are wanting to get involved right from the get go, we will also be looking for a naming rights sponsor for the league to also help out with costs.”
With the season now only a matter of months away, planning is already well underway to garner interest in the new league, with a number of come and try programs set to run early in the new year, with any girls aged eight to fourteen urged to visit the AFL Central Victoria Facebook page and register.
