EMMA Grant's heart is continuing to beat true for the red and the blue after being named in Melbourne's team for an AFL Women's Exhibition game against Brisbane.
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The Bendigo Thunder skipper has been named in a 24-player squad to play against the Lions at the MCG on Sunday, May 22.
Grant, a member of the AFL Women's Academy during the pre-season, will be joined by a few familiar faces.
The squad includes Kyneton's Ainslie Kemp and the Thunder's inaugural best and fairest Angela Foley, who is now based in the Northern Territory.
Nineteen-year-old Kemp, a former Victoria Country under-18 national youth girls representative, played a handful of games for the Thunder in 2015 and now plays for the Victorian University Western Spurs.
Grant, who coached Kemp in the Bendigo youth girls squad, said it was fabulous to see three girls with ties to the region pulling on the Melbourne jumper
The clash against the Lions will be the Thunder captain's second opportunity at the top level, after she was picked in the Demons' team which played the Western Bulldogs earlier in March.
"To get another chance to play with and against some of the best girls in the country is fantastic and an honour and a privilege," she said.
"I'm really looking forward to running out on the 'G'.
"I definitely thought I did a couple good things in the last game (versus the Bulldogs), but you're never sure if you have done enough.
"It will be great to get another crack, this time at the MCG, with some new girls, many who'll be playing their first game for the Dees."
The forward-midfielder has featured in the best players in each of the Thunder's round one and two wins in the Victorian Women's Football League's Premier Division.
Kemp, an All Australian in the 2015 Youth Girls Championships, will play as a small forward and prides herself on her speed and overhead marking.
Foley is one of two Northern Territory-based players in the squad.
Grant said the Lions would be a formidable opponent, boasting the cream of Queenslands women's talent.
With the Demons squad featuring women from 11 VWFL clubs, Melbourne Football Club community manager Debbie Lee said the team showcased the state’s ever-increasing talent pool.
“We’re looking forward to providing some of Victoria’s best footballers with an elite experience," Lee said.
“We have taken this approach with a view to continuing to develop women’s football, while also building a strong and highly competitive team for the game against Brisbane Lions.”
