Regional rivalry fires up fast

THEY are yet to clash on the field, but a rivalry already exists when the SFLW takes on the NTFA women’s team in Launceston tomorrow.

It is the first time there has been a women’s intrastate clash between the two, and SFLW playing-coach Jodi Mather said barbs were already flying.

“I know one of the captains of the northern team and she’s been pretty vocal in messaging me this week telling me they are going to give us a bit of a touch-up,” Mather said. “I think the rivalry will establish going past this year, but the north-south rivalry is very healthy and our girls are going in certainly hopeful we can be competitive and get the win.”

Playing on the expansive UTas Stadium, Mather said the SFLW had picked a team accordingly, with players from all nine clubs.

“We don’t know a lot about the girls up north, so we’ve picked a team with versatility and also got a team capable of run and carry,” the Lindisfarne premiership coach said.

“We’ve got a couple of experienced girls in the team but we’ve also got a lot of younger, fitter girls and we hope that will be a strength.”

With AFLW completing its second year and Tasmania to enter the big league next season in a joint team with North Melbourne, Mather said the women’s footy bubble continues to grow.

“Last year was the first year of the SFLW and we started off with five teams and we’ve grown to nine teams and the word on the street is there are more teams keen to come on board next season,” she said. “With growth like that, nearly doubling our numbers in 12 months is pretty significant and shows the game is alive and healthy for females.”