Women's teams clash

KANGAROO Flat’s Fulton Hogan Oval will tonight host a football match of a different kind.Not only will the game be played by women, but it will also feature a team from America.The touring US Freedom will tonight take on a Bendigo representative side in the third of its four matches in Australia.In its first two games, the US Freedom lost to Cairns 3.11 (29) to 1.8 (14), and was beaten by Sydney 4.9 (33) to 2.6 (18).The Bendigo team for tonight’s game will be coached by Kangaroo Flat senior coach Darryl Wilson.Bendigo will field a team of 24 to be captained by Andrea Walsh, with Sarah Baldwin to be the vice-captain.Walsh is a well-known Bendigo basketballer with the Lady Braves, as well as Bendigo Spirit, while Baldwin is a former AFL Youth Girls state representative.Walsh comes from strong footballing bloodlines, with her father, Brian, playing 115 VFL games for Carlton and Essendon between 1970 and 1978, while he also remains the Bendigo Football League’s youngest Michelsen medallist, claiming the honour as an 18-year-old with Sandhurst in 1969.Walsh’s brother, Darren, is one of Bendigo’s most well-known footballers having previously captained the Bendigo Diggers, as well as coached Golden Square.Along with Walsh and Baldwin, other players expected to have a large bearing on Bendigo’s chances tonight include centre half-back Laura Stampa, who plays with North Ballarat in the Victorian Women’s Football League and is a former state representative; Anna Teague, who, like Walsh, plays basketball for the Lady Braves; and centre half-forward Ellie McGrath.It’s hoped tonight’s match could help lead to the start of a regular senior female football team being established in the region.The Bendigo Regional YMCA is co-ordinating a push for a locally-based side to represent the area in the Victorian Women’s Football League from 2010.Tonight’s game starts at 5pm.