BENDIGO Pioneers under-18 girls will have their best opportunity to date to impress AFLW coaches and talent scouts, when the new TAC Cup Girls competition kicks-off this Saturday.
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A squad of 36 players from the club's catchment zone in central and northern Victoria and southern New South Wales will represent the Pioneers in the inaugural season of the competition.
The Pioneers, under coach Shawn McCormick, will be the first cab off the rank, drawn to play the Murray Bushrangers in a showcase game at Punt Road Oval at 4pm.
It's the only game scheduled on opening week.
McCormick said the girls were raring to go after a strong pre-season, which started back in November.
"I've been really impressed with the girls application and effort - they are all so very, very coachable," he said.
"They are fantastic in their approach - they play with unbridled joy, which is really refreshing.
"We've worked really hard on their fitness. The girls are all good below their knees and with their hands, but the one area we have really worked hard on is their kicking skills."
The TAC Cup Girls league complements the six youth girls academies, which were established in 2014, giving talented teenage girls the opportunity to play competitively and build their football skills.
It gives young female footballers the same pathway and opportunities the TAC Cup offers male footballers.
The Pioneers will field one of the youngest teams in the five-round competition, with only seven top-age players.
"The rest of them range from 13 and 14 up to 16, so it's a very young group," McCormick said.
"There will obviously be a lot of improvement in them, but we deliberately went down that path of being young."
McCormick is being backed by by assistants, two-time Golden Square premiership coach Nick Carter and former Bendigo Thunder star Emma Wolters.
He said run, carry and overlap would be a feature of the girls game this season.
"We are trying to condition them to play in a way that enhances moving the ball forward," he said.
"We've got five games for the season, but they will probably look at expanding the season next year."
The introduction of the TAC Cup Girls competition comes hot on the heels of the success of the inaugural AFL Women's league and a more than doubling of female participation rates in Australian rules football in the past five years.
Key players for the Pioneers will include ruck Rachel Thomas and Balranald’s Jordyn Jolliffe, who has been training with Greater Western Sydney's AFLW side.
Pioneers 2017 TAC Cup Girls fixture:
Saturday, March 4: v Murray Bushrangers (4pm, Punt Road Oval).
Sunday, March 19: v Eastern Ranges (4pm, Rams Arena - Craigieburn).
Sunday, April 2: v Greater Western Victoria Rebels (11am - Alfredton Oval).
Friday, April 7: v Gippsland Power (11.50am – My Jet Oval, Golden Square).
Friday, April 14: v Calder Cannons (1pm – Rams Arena).
