Saturday afternoon will see the first ever women’s team playing under the AFL Sydney banner when they clash with the highly rated AFL Canberra side at StarTrack Oval Manuka at 3pm.
Previously falling under the state banner, the new look side under coach Dean Connors is eager to pull on the Guernsey and show their wares in the first game of the two game series.
Connors who has a successful playing and coaching career in AFL Sydney himself, has been very impressed with how quickly the team has jelled and adapted to different styles of football under his tutelage.
On the match up, the coach is under no illusion of what is ahead of him but is confident his side will put up a great showing, "I have a lot of faith in the girls selected and there is no doubt we are heading down to compete. While our opposition have been training for much longer than us we have selected a good balance of youth and experience, some really fast paced players but also know we need to match them physically. Canberra, having been together for some time will be a well drilled, purposeful team. We just have to match that."
When asked of who has impressed during the program, Connors was quick to point out that he was pleasantly surprised by the talent on show within the league, "I have been really impressed with all the girls but Sandra Janjetovic and Mai Nguyen (pictured above) are two that have been very polished at training and am looking forward to seeing them on the big stage. Lara Hilmi is one that has surprised me so far and will be a barometer for us on Saturday".
"It goes without saying what a star Courtney Gum is and I’m obviously very happy she is in our side. Other senior players such as Laura Holdsworth and Jen Lew are ever reliable and ones you know exactly what you will get from".
Being a two game series Connors knows that the side will improve drastically into the rematch but is relishing his time so far and hopes the players continue to grow, "I would hope the girls discover a new dimension to their approach to football. Albeit we have only had 4 sessions to this point, the girls are quick learners and will most likely play a variety of roles on match day."
The game commences at 3pm at StarTrack Oval, Manuka on Saturday and all the action can be watched live at
www.youtube.com/aflsydneylive
Congratulations to all those players selected.
The team travelling to Canberra for Game 1 is:
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Melissa Freckleton
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Western Wolves
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Mai Nguyen
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UNSW/ES
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Lael Kassem
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Auburn
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Stephanie Walker
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Sydney Uni
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Alison Parkin
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Balmain
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Laura Holdsworth
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Balmain
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Alexandra Tegg
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Southern Power
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Kathryn Hull
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Southern Power
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Georgia Verkuylen
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Newtown
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Michaela Ekman
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Western Wolves
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Maddie Collier
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UNSW/ES
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Hannah McIntosh
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UNSW/ES
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Anne-Lise Bidou
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UNSW/ES
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Ashlee Morgan
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Sydney Uni
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Rachel Stack
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Sydney Uni
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Jennifer Lew
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Sydney Uni
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Kate Lawson
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Western Wolves
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Tobi Noble
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Newtown
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Sandra Janjetovic
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UNSW/ES
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Lara Hilmi
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UTS Shamrocks
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Codie Briggs
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Newtown
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Sharni Sleeman
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UNSW/ES
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Verna Iles
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Newtown
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Courtney Gum
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UNSW/ES
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Sasha Banki
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UNSW/ES
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Last Modified on 06/06/2014 12:41
