At 11am at Figtree Oval, Princes Highway, Figtree (Next to Westfields), Wollongong Saints host the Bondi Shamrocks. The Shamrocks had to forfeit last week due to low numbers and this may represent the best chance of the Saints to grab a vital win.
At 1pm, in the first Interstate Youth Girl Challenge the U15's of NSW will be keen to win for the first time in the three years of the challenge to knock-off the undefeated ACT. The NSW team is coached by Tony Johnston and assistant coach is 2010 Youth Girls Premiership Coach Shane Grenfell. On the opposing side, ACT brings a new model of a head coach in Pete Jensen for both teams and then an assistant coach in Gavin McKinnon who is the boys coach at U14s Belconne Cats.
At 2:30pm, in the second Interstate Youth Girls Challenge the U18's of NSW are eagerly await the ACT team to regain the crown that they lost last year in Canberra. The NSW team is again coached by Lisa "Kiwi" Roper who laid the foundation stone of the successful women's Talented Player Program and is also the Bondi Shamrocks coach. The ACT assistant coach for the U18s is Lancelot Yu, who was last year's NSW U15's coach so he knows both sides pretty well.
Looking at the two sides, we think the inclusion of the girls who are playing at a higher level in womens football will make a big difference in the two sides, so we expect a lot from NSW (Stephanie Power, Rhiannon Bartley, Emma Brown, Jessie Mulholland and Alexandra Tegg) and ACT (tba: but could include Sophie O'Dea, Heather Anderson, Jenna Girvan, Emma McCaskill, Casey Byrne, Gabrielle Henricus, Paige Mathewson, Kayla Dacey, Natalie Lamour and Kahli Abbott).
At the conclusion of the game, selectors and coaches will gather to formulate the combined talent squad from all four sides which will be roughly 40 strong. From there after a rigourous trial, the final combined squad of roughly around mid-20's will be taken to the Gold Coast for the second AFL Youth Girls National Championships in September.
We'll see you at the Footy!
Last Modified on 26/06/2011 22:11