Troy Rantanen takes over as Waratah women’s coach for 2025-26 NTFL season
Waratah has a proud history in the NTFL women’s competition and the club’s new coach and some inclusions, including a recent VFLW club BnF winner, hope to return them to the upper echelons.
Dedicated club man Troy Rantanen has taken over the coaching role of the Waratah women’s team, eager to build on the proud history of the club with some strong, new inclusions.
The Warriors won seven women’s premierships in the 2010s, and won in the decade prior, to make them the most successful club in the division.
However, a changing of the guard and the significant rise of rival clubs has evened matters somewhat with the club missing out on finals altogether in the 2024-25 season, a rarity for the club.
And it’s that list rejuvenation and push back to the upper echelons that long-time club man Troy Rantanen is eager to see after taking the helm of the women’s side.
Rantanen first joined the club as an under-18s player in the 2004-5 season and despite moving away at some stages has been a fixture of the club.
He has won premierships at various levels and also has a Junior Club Person of the Year award to his name, while previously coaching at junior levels.
A strong group of assistant coaches in Max Urwin, Andrea Lima and Shane Raymond are geared up for the same task.
“It’s very exciting to coach a premier league team at the club, I’ve been a Waratah person for many years and I’m passionate about it,” Rantanen said.
“We’ve got a fantastic committee that’s been very supportive and a great group of assistant coaches, and working with the men’s side Ricky Nolan’s been a really good mentor for me.
“Numbers have been fantastic so far, there’s going to be some tough decisions come selection time purely because of numbers.
“They’ve got a fantastic history of being a strong team for many years, but unfortunately that past couple of years we haven’t quite been at that level.
“We have had a change of the guard of sorts and have some great developing players so with some improvement we’re eying a move up the ladder and a push for finals.
“The competition gets stronger every year, Nightcliff have signed a lot of new players, PINT are always strong and we know Saints will be too, and other clubs have made moves so we have to keep our wits about us.”
Madeline Jeans, Britany Daly and Ruby O’Dwyer have been leaders of the club for the past few years, and while the latter will be an interstate this season, all three will be features again.
Other returning names include Nikki Watts, Lauren Pluker and Isobel Hartog who have all featured in Tahs sides to have pushed into finals.
Waratah also has some significant inclusions headlined by Sandringham captain Grace Hodder who was recently crowned the club’s VFLW best and fairest winner.
Then there’s Steph Williams, who after a stint on AFLW lists has returned to the Territory, and Amelie Gilchrist comes up from Heidelberg.
“It’s really exciting to have Hodder on-board, she’s going to add a lot of experience and a huge amount of depth to our midfield,” Rantanen said.
“Not only are they great players but I think they’re players that are going to assist our developing players both in training and on the field.
“We have a strong core group of under 17.5 players who are going to have a good season and learning professionalism from our top group will be great.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Troy Rantanen takes over as Waratah women’s coach for 2025-26 NTFL season
Crisp win to take over as ANMF NT Branch Secretary
