Swans join finals fight to rip title from Tigers
A LANDMARK season for the AFL Townsville women’s competition will come to a head tonight when the finals series kicks off at Riverway Stadium.
Minor premiers the Hermit Park Tigers will face Thuringowa Bulldogs for the chance to go straight through to the grand final, while the University Hawks take on the Curra Swans in an elimination final.
The competition has grown in leaps and bounds in 2018, with all five senior clubs fielding a women’s team, including the Swans, who have made the finals in their first season.
Swans coach Cath Loveday admitted just winning a game would have exceeded their expectations, but she said their skill development had been impressive.
“At the beginning, I had girls unable to kick a football and unable to handball,” she said.
“I would say something to them and they would just give me this blank stare. Now I can tell them something and they know how to play the game and get out there and have a good run.”
The Hawks have won the competition twice, but they’ve had a new group this season and club president Narrisha McDougal said it was heart- ening to see so many players taking up the sport.
“To go from nothing a few years ago to struggling with three teams in the competition to now having five really strong, solid teams this year has been amazing,” she said.
Bulldogs midfielder Bek Barr grew up watching from the sidelines and said it was fantastic that women and girls now had more opportunities to get out on the field and play.
“It’s so good having watched the game my whole life and now being able to get out on the field and seeing these young girls come up who just are growing up footballers,” she said.
“I’ve had to make myself into a footballer, they’re growing up footballers, so it’s fantastic for the game.”
The Tigers are unbeaten this season and also won last year’s grand final, but coach Ashley Poole said it was great to see that they now had more competition across the league.
“We’ve been really happy as a club looking at the league with the other four teams and seeing how much it’s grown and how much the girls have developed,” he said.
The action kicks off tonight with the Tigers and Bulldogs at 6.15pm followed by the Hawks and Swans at 7.45pm.