There’s no Lion about Howarth’s hopes to be a Sun
AFLW prospect Kalinda Howarth will head into next month’s draft likely to be picked up by the Brisbane Lions but hoping the club will release her to their arch-rivals within two years.
Gold Coast was yesterday awarded an AFLW licence for 2020, when the women’s competition will expand to 14 clubs.
Until then though, the Suns face the prospect of their best female talent heading to other clubs to ply their trade.
All-Australian under-18 forward Howarth was named the Gold Coast Suns Academy’s female player of the year this month but she will have to play for another team to realise her dream of becoming a professional player.
But Howarth will be in a unique position.
The Suns trainee is likely to keep her position with the Gold Coast while playing for the Lions in a remarkable show of co-operation between Queensland’s AFL clubs.
“I’ll have to make a halfand-half shirt, one half Brisbane Lions, one half Suns,” Howarth quipped.
“Both (Lions women’s CEO) Brianna Brock and especially Mark (Evans, the Suns boss) have been very supportive in helping me out and trying to sort out any issues that they may have with sponsorships and sorting out which shirt I should wear at what events. They’ve been very supportive and just want to do what’s best for me.
“It’s awesome. I’m thankful for all the support that I have both up in Brisbane and here at the Suns.”
Howarth said while there were a few good-natured jokes that she sit out the draft and wait for the Suns to enter the competition before she made her AFLW debut, she could not wait to join the growing league.
“It was an absolute nobrainer that I was never going to sit out of it as much as we got asked to a couple of times jokingly,” she said.
“I hope to be at the Lions for the next two years but I can definitely see myself coming back and playing for the Suns as soon as I can. It’s something that would have to work out with Brisbane.”