15 Diamond Creek players named in women’s AFL National Draft Academy

FIFTEEN Diamond Creek players have been selected in the women’s AFL National Draft Academy that kicked off at Princes Park recently.

s21dv999 Diamond CReek women's footy Nicole Paul, Amelia Barden, Shae Audley, Laura Attard, Tiarna Ernst and Tanya Hetherington.

FIFTEEN Diamond Creek players have been selected in the women’s AFL National Draft Academy that kicked off at Princes Park recently.

Diamond Creek, one of two stand-alone female football clubs in Victoria, has played in

six of the past seven premier league grand finals so it’s no surprise it has the biggest representation in the academy. The Creek’s arch-rival Darebin, the state’s other stand-alone female footy club, has 11 players taking part.

Training at the academy began two weeks ago, with a two kilometre time trial, and will involve weekly training for the next nine months. Players will be expected to do three nights of strength and conditioning training every week on their own.

Players will be competing for places on AFL club lists – Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs

have played off in an annual exhibition match since 2013.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has said the AFL is looking to establish as many as six AFL women’s teams by 2017.

Diamond Creek president Laura Attard, herself one of the nominees, said the Creekers’ outstanding representation at the academy is down to the hard yards put in to develop the club in recent seasons.

“It’s a credit to our girls that we have the highest invited,” she said. “We have an enormous amount of talent at Diamond Creek and this is a fantastic opportunity for those girls to develop themselves as elite athletes.”

Diamond Creek representatives at women’s AFL level include Western Bulldogs’ captain

Stephanie Chiocci and fellow Bulldog Katie Loynes along with Melbourne players Tiarna Ernst and Lauren Morecroft.

Ernst, who suffered a lacerated kidney in this year’s exhibition match on August 16, will join teammates Christina Bernardi, Tanya Hetherington and Nicole Paul on the draft’s

rehabilitation and conditioning program.

Hetherington and Paul both suffered ACL injuries in the Creekers’ preliminary final win over Melbourne University while Bernardi underwent hip surgery post-season to correct an ongoing joint impingement.

Ernst, who has been selected in the academy in previous seasons, has lauded its development over the season.

“We’ve been given strength and conditioning and a baseline fitness program,” she said. “There’s now diet regimes, a sports psychologist and rehab and conditioning. It’s become more professional.”

Recent best and fairest winner Amelia Barden, Shae Audley, Brittany Grech, Lauren Brazzale, Lisa Williams, Stacey Cross and Kirby Hicks were also selected.

A squad of 110 was picked, following talent identification that began in March, with 20 places going to under-18 youth girls who have shown potential.

The draftees will be coached by Graham Burgen, who oversaw the Victorian team for its match against Western Australia in July.

“He’s met with all premier teams and said that attitude and commitment is what we’ll really need,” Attard said.