AFLW stars were in attendance coaching and assisting throughout the match, as the female footballers identified in the state-wide talent searches took part in a clash to showcase their skills.
The regional roadshow aimed at engaging with female footballers all over WA, with Eagles staff travelling 9,651km in total over the course of two months to coordinate the AFLW talent searches, Women’s and Girls’ academy sessions and female education programs.
163 females put their best foot forward in one of the nine regional talent searches held in different locations across the Pilbara, Goldfields, Mid-West, Great Southern and South West, leading to the 39 players chosen to take part in the game at Eagles HQ.
Four of the AFLW players travelled alongside Community and Game Development staff across WA, with Alison Drennan, Charlie Thomas, Courtney Rowley and Ella Roberts all journeying to various locations to assist throughout the roadshow.
AFLW Head Coach Daisy Pearce also jumped on board to lend a helping hand, venturing down to the South West for some school visits and talent searches in the region before being present on game day to provide some coaching insights.
“It was a great opportunity for some of our AFLW players to be part of the trip and connect with girls across the regions,” Pearce said.
“I think it’s really exciting to make that connection for the young girls to want to get to where these players are and hearing firsthand how they can do it too.
“Being a country girl myself I know people in the regions really love their footy and whilst the pathways are getting better and better and there’s the opportunity for these athletes to play local footy, it’s still important for us to come down to the regions and make sure that there is that really clear avenue into the elite level if they’re good enough and if they want to work hard enough.”
The Women’s and Girl’s Academy Regional Roadshow produced some fantastic results across the board with a variety of education programs and football sessions allowing the trip to reach a sensational 1494 total engagements.
There were 22 SOAR education sessions in schools across the state with 953 students in attendance, whilst our 12 Women’s and Girls’ Academy sessions had 335 participants total.
To top it all off, the Club’s new female coaching program titled ‘Eagle Edge’ officially launched outside of the metro area for the first time, with 43 regional coaches looking to further develop their skills in coaching the next generation of female footballers.
Academies Coordinator Chad Morrison praised the success of the trip overall and the significant impact trips like this have on continuing to provide access to football all around WA.
“It’s extremely important for the football club to go down to the regional areas because some of these girls don’t have the opportunity to come up to Perth. The last thing we want is parents and their kids in cars for hours and hours to get to Perth in order for these girls to pursue their passion to play AFLW,” he said.
“There’s a lot of AFLW talent coming through these regional areas and providing these education tools directly to them will assist their development in the years to come.”
Morrison praised the display of talent with many of the footballers attending the various talent searches before capping it all off with a fantastic match.
“I think the growth of female football over the last five-to-seven years has been rapid, you see the impact playing football from an Auskick level to now has had on many of these girls.”
“The connection between our metro and regional programs is so important, so to bring these girls from all across the state to Mineral Resources Park and give them a chance to showcase their talents is a fantastic representation of the Club’s regional impact.”
The Women’s and Girls’ Academy Regional Roadshow could not be possible without our proud Youth Engagement Partner in BHP, who’s support allows us to continue providing pathways for the next generation of female footballers across WA.
