Farrar on fast track
South Cairns talent Kitara Farrar has been selected in the 2018 AFL Women’s Academy squad. Farrar (above) took out all three of the major awards in local footy this season — 2017 AFL Cairns best and fairest, rising star and best on ground in the Cutters’ winning grand final — and she is still just 16, playing against women twice her age.
AFL SOUTH Cairns talent Kitara Farrar has been selected in the 2018 AFL Women’s Academy squad.
Farrar took out all three of the major awards in local footy this season – 2017 AFL Cairns best and fairest, rising star and best on ground in the Cutters’ winning grand final – and she is still just 16, playing against women twice her age.
The academy is a stepping stone for underage footballers to progress on to an AFLW list in the coming seasons.
Farrar was nominated by the AFL and state talent managers selected the latest intake of players following the 2017 AFL Women’s Under-18 Championships in July.
Forty-four players will receive an AFL Women’s Academy scholarship and come together for accelerated Australian football and personal development camps over a 12month period.
They will train with AFL clubs in November and December, attend high-performance training camps in December and April, and have access to athlete management systems, AFL coaches, and sports science and sports medicine staff.
AFL Women’s female talent operations manager Aasta O’Connor said Farrar was a standout for her age group.
“In the next 12 months we will be working to prepare the best young female talent for AFLW football,” she said.
The first camp will be held in Darwin in December.
The squads are broken into 15 Level One players (16 years of age) and 29 Level Two footballers – the best 17-year-olds eligible for next year’s NAB AFL Women’s Draft.