By Peter Carruthers
Regional Manager of AFL Queensland was at St Catherine's Manresa Campus to scout out local AFL talent last week.
About 20 girls were put through their paces running ball drills, sprints and coordination exercises with an aim to growing AFL at a grass roots level.
Jeff Neumann said the 'Girls Play Too' Rookie ID Day was an important step in sustaining a female pathway across the region
"It is really focused at a secondary school level. The invite went out to Bowen and Proserpine State High. This is the first phase in a three step process," he said.
Phase two was getting the girls playing competition footy, Neumann said.
"There is a high demand and with the confirmation of the National Women's League in 2017, we will see an incredible increase in female players and right now we are preparing for that," he said.
"We are going through a couple of ID athlete exercises today, some agility and sprint work and we will do a bit of vertical leap stuff as well.
"From an AFL point of view we are not looking for footballers we are looking for athletes within the region and as we move into 2017 we are working closely to build a women's team."
The Whitsunday Sea Eagles currently don't have a women's team in the Mackay competition but have expressed interest in fielding a team in the 2017 competition.
"This will be a great step forward and make them a very inclusive club for everyone," Neumann said.
"This is the first process in that step."
Last Modified on 02/09/2016 10:15