AFLW stars visit Toowoomba to inspire Darling Downs’ next generation of stars

Toowoomba’s AFLW stars of tomorrow were given a once in a lifetime opportunity as they got to train with three former and current AFLW stars as well as hold the 2023 premiership trophy won by the Brisbane Lions. Check out which stars visited the Garden City here.

Toowoomba’s junior Australian rules football stars were given the opportunity of a lifetime as three current and former AFLW stars visited the John Holland Youth Girls Development Program at Concordia College on Tuesday.

Former GWS Giant Casidhe Simmons and current Brisbane Lions stars Taylor Smith and Luka Yoshida-Martin.

Young Toowoomba player Mikayla Zirbel was a part of the program and loved learning from some of the best in the game.

“I have come here because I wanted to get to know more about AFL, how to play it and to just have fun,” she said.

“They are pretty informative about what they do and how they train and they are fun to talk to.

“It is pretty cool because it inspires me to be the best I can to be able to make it to the highest rep teams.”

AFLQ Darling Downs competition and participation manager Jana Anderson and Brisbane Lions AFLW star Taylor Smith with the 2023 AFLW premiership trophy at Concordia College, Toowoomba.

Smith was one of the heroes for the Lions in 2023 and was delighted to help promote the game in the Darling Downs by helping out with a training session and bringing along the 2023 premiership trophy.

“At the Lions, one of our values is to inspire the next generation so it is so good to get out to places like this,” she said.

“I have never been out to Toowoomba too so it is nice to come out here and see all the work AFL Queensland does in the Darling Downs and get to meet a few of the young girls who are aspiring to get to the next level as well.

“It has been so nice to come out, I haven’t seen the trophy in a while either.

“I know there was the AFL Queensland cup tour where the cup got to go around to all the Brisbane schools so it is nice to bring it out here for a bunch of girls to have a look, have a hold and get up close with it.

“It is not something you get to do every day so it pretty special that we get to be the ones to give them that opportunity.”

Smith is currently juggling being a teacher while pursuing her AFLW dream but has cherished the opportunity to take on two different careers.

“I am really lucky, I am contracted part time and then I fill the gaps in off-season on the days that I’m not contracted I work casually so I do a bit of relief work in between,” she said.

Taylor Smith (left) celebrates winning the 2023 AFLW Grand Final. Photo: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

“At the moment the balance isn’t too bad, I am an early riser so I get up at five, I do my training and go in to work for an 8am start if not earlier if I’ve got a lot of work to do.

“The balance is okay at the moment but once footy rolls around I will definitely drop back to just part time if not less.

“It is a challenge but it is something I have been doing for a while now so I have got my strategies and I am very blessed that the school I work at is the school that I went to for 13 years, so they are very flexible for me and very understanding of me managing both careers.”

Despite this challenge, Smith believes aspiring athletes should pursue other careers outside of sports as well.

“I also think that it’s important across both the women’s space and the men’s space that we continue to push kids to have that backup plan as well,” she said.

“Sport is a short-lived career, there’s not many people who can play when they are 45 so having something to work towards as well as footy, I think also it motivates you for sport.

“I know that when I really work hard at my degree and all the other things on the side it makes me more excited for footy because I’ve got two passions and I get a break from one when I need it.

Current and former AFLW stars Casidhe Simmons, Tay Smith and Luka Yoshida-Martin pass on their knowledge to aspiring Darling Downs Aussie Rules stars.

“Footy is that release when I am stressed with something else so I think that as long as we continue to aspire to have other aspirations as well I think that is a really good way to head in and a good lesson to teach kids.”

Smith is hopeful her appearance will help inspire Toowoomba girls to not only play Australian rules, but continue to play it as they get older with more opportunities available at a senior level.

“It is so good to see that they are running programs just for girls,” she said.

“In the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, the growth of women’s football is insane so to bring it out wider and go out to places like Toowoomba is a great thing for the game.

“It is a great thing for the Brisbane Lions as well and it is so good to see women playing footy from such a young age.

“I see a lot definitely through me growing up, girls drop out of sport once they start getting older.

“So if we can give them a little bit of hope that there is the ability to have a career in football and in sport as well as working a normal working life like a teacher or whatever it is that they aspire to be, that there is that option to have them both now and hopefully soon they can be a full-time athlete.”

Originally published as AFLW stars visit Toowoomba to inspire Darling Downs’ next generation of stars