Girls lead way for Hawks’ future

ONE of the Shire’s football and netball clubs is kicking off the new season with the debut of its first under 12s girls footy team.

The Inverleigh Football and Netball Club has formed the under 12s girls side, and the team will play games in the AFL Barwon junior female competition.

With the club’s established netball teams only able to hold so many players, committee member Rob McHenry said expanding their football offering has allowed for greater female participation.

“We thought we’d look into the interest and we saw that there was quite a significant number of girls in our Auskick program,” he said.

“There was definitely a possibility for it and then when we put it out there that we wanted to do it, the community response was just extraordinary.

“There was a need and a challenge there that we had in terms of having enough opportunities for girls to get engaged, and so it looks like this’ll be a good thing going for a long time.”

The expansion comes alongside a series of upgrades for the club, with facilities now provided for female football changerooms at the recreation reserve as part of a $1.5 million grant from the State Government.

The club’s coordinator of women’s footy Narelle Scott said the team’s formation is the result of these recent developments.

“The new facilities have definitely helped, rather than iffing or butting, we were able to actually say we’re running with it, and everyone had the confidence to get involved because of that,” she said.

“We’re still getting people signing up. By now there’s at least 16 girls signed up, and there’s still more to come.”

The team will be coached by Gemma Hardy, and McHenry said the end goal is to develop senior women’s teams, with the under 12s providing the first step for further inclusion.

“As someone who’s been a part of country football for a long time, it’s great to see the increased opportunities for more people to get involved with it,” he said.

“To see that grow and to see professional pathways for these girls to go into is exciting. Who’s to say a young country girl from Inverleigh can’t one day aspire to that?”