Tigers on the lookout for female players

ONE of the newer women’s footy teams in the Shire is looking for recruits in anticipation of the upcoming season.

At about 13 players, Bannockburn Football and Netball Club needs only a handful of players to fill its women’s team in time for the first round of matches in early April.

The team is open to a broad range of over 18s, and the club’s senior coach Brendan Smith said they’ve been trying to fill their numbers since last year.

“COVID sort of had a big part to play in us not being able to get a team up and running,” he said.

“We’re hoping to get it done this year, and the more players we get, the more opportunities we’ll have to give everyone a rest and rotate them around.

“Our aim is to give everybody a go.”

The team is comprised mostly of newer players, and Smith said their inexperience gives them an underdog spirit among more established clubs.

With the club also having under 12s and under 15s teams, it is hoped the expanding team will encourage the younger players to keep at it.

“We want to give these girls that are coming up through the younger teams something to aim towards,” he said.

“Who knows, in five or ten years we might even have one or two girls playing in women’s AFL, which would be fantastic.”

As part of the push the club has been reaching out to the surrounding towns via letterbox drops and Facebook ads.

Smith said that regardless of whether the team plays this season, he still looks forward to seeing the players grow and learn how best to work with each other.

“Even if we can’t get a team together, it’s no big deal. We’re going to work with the girls and develop their skills and knowledge base one or another.”

Bannockburn Football and Netball Club’s women’s footy team trains every Monday and Wednesday night from 6.45pm.