FILLIES’ FRESH START
INNISFAIL United’s female players are putting last season’s disappointing finish behind them with plans to field two women’s teams in this year’s FNQ Football league.
The Cutters’ premier women’s side finished at the bottom of the ladder, but the club is ready to turn it around this year with a stronger premier squad and a new reserve/ youth team.
Coach Amber Overton said the new team, which will be called the Fillies, would help to bridge the gap between junior level sport and senior teams.
“Basically, it will be for the under-15s and up, the same age group as the premiers, but it’s going to give the opportunity for those younger players that are under 15 and aren’t quite ready to play premiers yet,” she said.
“It also gives a chance to some of the ladies that haven’t played competitive football for a number of years because they’ve had families or other commitments to come back into the game without the pressure of playing premiers and having to do the extra training.
“It was a concept I approached FNQ Football about because we had a lot of issues last year with a lot of the younger players because they had nowhere to go.
“With the six-a-side competition we had at the end of last year, a lot of players came out of the woodwork.”
Overton said the premiers would be fighting for redemption after a last year’s difficult season.
“Last year was a really tough year to be honest, but the good thing about it is that in the last five or six games, we came together as a team and actually started to play really well,” she said.