Sky’s the limit for Tasmanian women

THE invitation is open for any female athlete to try to become part of Tasmanian football history as a member of the state’s first AFL team.

North Melbourne, which holds the joint licence with Tasmania for next year’s AFLW, will be conducting open trials in Launceston (on Sunday, February 11), Ulverstone (February 12) and Hobart (February 13).

Roos AFLW coach Scott Gowans said it was a one-off opportunity for footballers or athletes with football attributes who haven’t played the game to have a crack at getting on an AFLW list.

“Moving forward as the structure grows around footy both in Victoria and Tassie, it will be more like the boys where you probably have to be in a TAC Cup or state level footy, play nationals and then get drafted,” Gowans said. “But at the moment the AFLW right across Victoria and Tassie is not quite like that.

“The opportunity this year and possibly next year could be a once in a lifetime thing.”

Gowans said both North Melbourne and AFL Tasmania would have a much better understanding of how the joint licence would work after the trials and the coaching staff had a much better idea of how many Tasmanians could be on the list.

The trials are the start of a big month for the Roos in Tasmania as the men’s squad will be in town for the JLT Series game against Melbourne at Kingston’s Twin Ovals on February 24, with the club’s community camp around the state on February 25-26.