The Finley Spiders will make their debut in the Shepparton District Junior Football League Youth Girls competition this weekend only six weeks after a feature match was played to ignite interest in the town.
The Spiders, the region’s newest Youth Girls team, will make their debut against Northern Angels at Finley Recreation Reserve this Sunday 26 June with the game commencing at 12:30pm.
SDJFL President Chris Thomas had no hesitation in welcoming the new team into the fold.
"Whilst they are joining the competition mid season the Board had no hesitation in accepting their Youth Girls team application" he said.
"We surveyed the other Youth Girls clubs and with their unanimous support the Board actioned their admission immediately and the fixture has been restructured to allow them in."
"The Youth Girls competition has a strong developmental focus to it so we will also change the finals structure to include a fifth team which will provide an extra game for all teams."
"Finley’s inclusion is a great statement for the growth of female participation in the region and with the AFL national women’s competition now confirmed for 2017 there will only be more opportunities for women and girls in the future."
Finley FNC President Ashley Haynes is excited about his Club’s newest team.
"We had on target to start a Youth Girls team for 2017" he said.
"The game we hosted on 30 April between Echuca and Northern Angels was inspired by the ‘Girls Make Your Move’ national push and since then the momentum has really taken off and with the support of key individuals we decided to push forward and put a list of players together for this season."
"We now have 23 in the squad with most players coming from the very successful Finley High School team which won the Paul Kelly Cup earlier in the year so there is some strong playing experience in the group."
"Having a female team sits perfectly with the Club’s Inclusion Policy and female football is the fastest growing sport in the country and we are rapt to be able to have a team represent our community."
"The girls are really looking forward to playing in a club competition and we are grateful for the support of the League and AFL Goulburn Murray in facilitating the team’s entry at this stage of the season."
Event Details:
Date: Sunday 26 June 2016
Event: Finley Spiders v Northern Angels
Venue: Finley Recreation Reserve
Time: 12:30pm
Last Modified on 04/11/2016 10:33