Annie-May Jannings, Annika Stone, Hannah Palmer, Lilly Dalton, Luca Daw and Ruby Hodges training for this year’s Country Championships. Photo: EDFA.
The EDFA’s top female footy talents are set to bring speed and “Esperance flair” to the Nutrien Ag Country Championships in Bunbury next month.
The division 2 side will compete in four matches against country players from the Goldfields, Pilbara and Kimberley on October 2 and 3.
EDFAW coach Farrin Parker said each Esperance-based club nominated their top players at the start of the season for trials and said they held open pre-season training sessions too.
“Our coaching team selects from this group and any other additional players we invite into the squad based on what we see from them at training and within their games during the season,” Parker said.
“Our training sessions have been at an exceptionally high standard which has us pretty excited about the possibilities for this group — they’ve gelled really well, which makes our sessions fast paced and highly skilled.
“The best thing about running our squad throughout the year is that the team are all very familiar with each other and have transitioned well from opponents to teammates.
“There’s no better feeling than hitting the track with someone you’ve spent your season analysing and opposing, then getting the opportunity to be complimented by them as teammates.”
Esperance have improved greatly since they first started playing at the carnival four years ago.
Last year they placed runners up and this year Parker said she expected the team to be competitive again.
“We’ve got a pretty exciting team again this year, with a diverse range of talent and some real pace amongst the group,” she said.
“We’re really impressed with how they’re already looking and know the next few weeks we’ll continue to build on that which is a credit to their dedication all season.”
The country champs bring the best players from WA together and Parker said it allowed them to showcase talent to a broader audience.
“Scouts from all levels attend and it provides opportunities, especially for remote associations like ourselves, the Pilbara and Kimberley to have the exposure we rightly deserve,” she said.
“We’ve seen girls transition into WAFLW programs and state selection on the back of this carnival, also into AFLW as well.”
The Country Championships will host eight women’s associations this year.
