Clubs lock in lists for the 2021 VFLW season
The Victorian women’s state league welcomes Port Melbourne to the fold for the 2021 season that starts on Saturday.
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The drill is called the “1874 touch shop’’.
Before training, Port Melbourne VFLW players must make pairs and have 937 touches of the ball between them.
Done twice for the week, it comes to 1874 possessions.
That’s a significant number.
Port Melbourne Football Club was established in 1874, and the Borough are embracing their past as they forge into the future with their first women’s state league team.
Coach Lachie Harris said the club wanted the players to be mindful of Port’s history as they made some of their own.
“If we can take some of the philosophy and the history of the men’s team from years and years and instil it in our group, it will serve us really well,’’ he said.
“That’s a big part of the football club, all that tradition.’’
Port enters the VFLW in a partnership with another historic Victorian football club, Richmond.
The Tigers decided to relinquish their VFLW licence on the grounds of costs, and it was passed on to the Borough, who for two years had been fielding a team in the South Eastern Division 1 community competition.
“I don’t think the club expected to get the licence as quickly as they did,’’ Harris said.
“But Port’s vision was always to get to VFLW level. Everyone has worked hard to bring it all together, linking in with what ‘Ayresy’ (coach Gary Ayres) has done with the men’s team. His support has been phenomenal.’’
Any AFLW players not selected for Richmond will play at Port, and when the AFLW season finishes the Borough will be able to select a maximum of 10 Tigers each week.
Harris said bringing the two groups together to make one cohesive unit would be a challenge.
“It’s about valuing what each girls brings to the group and how it adds to our collective, really highlighting those individualities and uniquenesses and quirkinesses,’’ he said.
“We don’t want the Richmond girls to feel they’re coming down a level and not feeling involved and connected. We want to make them feel valued and like they belong in the place.’’
A few of the Port Melbourne players who turned out in the community competition will also be VFLW foundation players, including Tara Jasper, Nayely Borg, Lucy De Gleria Cade, Isabella Stutt, Sabrine Navarro and Belinda Ousley, who will serve as a playing assistant coach.
Ousley was a leading player in the women’s team’s take-off season.
The experienced Melissa Kuys heads the list of newcomers.
Hawthorn’s VFLW captain in 2017, she played AFLW with Collingwood from 2017-19 and was on St Kilda’s AFLW squad in 2020. Harris said the side would benefit from her experience and leadership.
Bridie Kennedy, the inaugural winner of the TAC Cup girls best and fairest in 2017, also brings AFLW experience, having played three games for Carlton.
Then there’s East Fremantle WAFLW premiership player Katrina Tinson; ex-Carlton VFL player Courteney Bromage; Hawthorn VFLW trio Pip Peschke, Abbey Tanner and Ellie Macdonald; and Holly Bailey from Casey Demons.
Assistant coach Yul Mustafa has also crossed from Hawthorn, joining Ousley, Kuys and Patrick Di Natale (head of development) on the support team for Harris, who had a lead role in the Collingwood AFLW and VFLW programs and was Williamstown’s VFLW list manager and a VFL assistant coach last year.
Port Melbourne supporters are among the most ardent and devoted in the VFL, and Harris said he was sure they would get in behind the women’s team.
“Hopefully they’ll see the level we’re at now and jump cross and bring the flags and the banners and the floggers. It would be awesome,’’ he said.
The VFL season starts on Saturday, and the Borough tuned up for it with a narrow practice-match win at Casey last Saturday.
The Demons have a new coach in former Casey Scorpions VFL player Peter Mercoulia.
The Melbourne AFLW assistant is one of a string of newcomers to the league coaching ranks.
Chloe McMillan (Collingwood), Luke O’Shannessy (Cartlon), Mitch Skelly (Darebin), Brendan Major (Essendon), Andrew Bruce (Geelong), Bec Goddard (Hawthorn), Cheyne Webster (North Melbourne), Dale Robinson (Southern Saints), Sean Kavanagh (Western Bulldogs) and Penny Cula-Reid (Williamstown) will be making the moves for the 12 teams.
Cula-Reid coached Collingwood to the 2019 VFLW premiership and joined the stand-alone Seagulls for the 2020 season that never was.
Goddard was the AFLW’s first premiership coach, pointing the Crows to the 2017 premiership.
The VFLW season has been brought forward to align with the AFLW and NAB League Girls seasons, and will run for 16 weeks.
The top six teams will play in a four-week finals series in June, with the grand final set down for the weekend of July 10.
AFL Head of Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone said women’s football continued to go from strength to strength across the country, and that the VFL, coming into its fifth season, had played its part in the growth of the game.
“The rebel VFLW competition has been a foundation league in Victoria for many years and an exciting pathway for young girls,’’ she said.
“Players like Monique Conti, Karen Paxman, Daisy Pearce and Ellie Blackburn all had great success in the VFLW competition and we look forward to welcoming the next crop of AFLW stars.
“We are delighted with the growth in the women’s game and to see the emerging talent across all levels is very exciting for football. The VFLW has an exciting season ahead as more girls continue to progress their football journey.”
Each team will field 16 players, with five on the bench.
The AFLW-aligned clubs must select a minimum of five Under 22 players in all matches, and the non-aligned clubs – Essendon, Darebin, Hawthorn and Williamstown – must choose at least three U22s.
Leading VFLW commentator Peter Holden said he believed Port Melbourne had recruited well and could be a surprise package of the season.
“They’ve scanned around and picked out bits and pieces from the other clubs, so they’ve got some experience ready to go,’’ he said.
ROUND ONE
Saturday, February 27
North Melbourne v Port Melbourne at Arden St, 10am
Geelong v Collingwood at Deakin University (Waurn Ponds), 12pm
Carlton v Casey Demons at IKON Park, 2pm
Sunday, February 28
Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn at VU Whitten Oval, 10am
Essendon v Southern Saints at The Hangar, 10.30am
Darebin v Williamstown at La Trobe Uni (Bundoora), 11.30am
VFLW SQUADS FOR 2021 SEASON
CARLTON
Akayla Paterson
Bry Gurri
Amber Micallef
Chelsea Bowen
Cleo Faulks
Elsa Mangan
Jennifer Lew
Jessie Coletti
Jorja Borg
Maddi Wilson
Mikayla Barnes
Amelia Klingbeil
Nikia Weber
Olivia Madden
Shanara Notman
Steph Lawrence
Taylah Kolevski
Ally Bild
Teresa Zampaliogne
Development list
Teagan Brett
Charli Linssen
Eliza Wood
Esther Honybun
Marnie Jarvis
Phoebe Chisholm
Jasmine Ware
Sarah Ingram
CASEY DEMONS
Caitlin Conroy
Tahlia Fellows
Alexandra Kirkwood
Katherine McFadyen
Grace Buchan
Imogen Milford
Shree Fairchild
Samantha Johnson
Kelly Thompson
Alicia Bertrand
Nicole Hales
Emma Humphries
Meg Macdonald
Bianca Lenarcic
Laura Jonston
Emma Horne
Development list
Bridie Winbanks
Brooke Borchard
Amy Dunn
Georgia Howes
Lisa Davies
Stephanie Topp
Harmony Thomas
Monica Harasimiuk
Eliza West
COLLINGWOOD
Imogen Barnett
Marla Neal
Mollie Emond
Jasmine Ferguson
Olivia Gleeson
Rebecca Grant
Jennifer Guy
Georgia Ricardo
Ebony Wroe
Matilda Zander
Demi Hallett
Hannah Bowey
Caitlin Bunker
Sarah King
Katelyn Lee
Jordan Mifsud
Cahlia Haslam
Shanae DeCler
Emily Duffy
Lauren Durante
Development list
Elisabeth Jackson
Kalarni Kearns
Olivia Storer
Nicola Weston
Georgia Byrne
Kara Colborne-Veel
Tricia Cowan
Olivia Meagher
Neve O’Connor
DAREBIN
Nicole Callinan
Karly McNiece
Caitlyn Jefferys
Alyssa Mifsud
Gena Lawson-Tavan
Ellen Buckley
Stephaine Simpson
Cherelle Byrne
Rachel Hibbert
Kathleen Roe
Stephaine Elarmaly
Mikayla Meyer
Paije Kearney
Stephaine Normington-Dickens
Ashleigh Gunn
Katie McAloon
Alice Caddy
Sally Lynch
Samara David
Victoria Blackwood
Rachel Harris
Iliana Zafiriou
Sabine Cowley Du Parquet
Sidney Cubasch
Jessica Kinsman
Hayley Munro
Vanja Smiljanic
Lauren Camilleri
Lucy Schneider
Development list
Georgia Wilson
Julia McArdle
Claire Leahy
Angelique Reibelt
Katelyn Hazlett
Manaia Huta
Sophia Padovano
Peppa Poultney
ESSENDON
Courtney Ugle
Felicity Theodore
Monique De Matteo
Mia-Rae Clifford
Georgia Nanscawen
Alex Quigley
Jessie Davies
Eloise Ashley-Cooper
Marianna Anthony
Eleanor Cornish
Alana Barba
Elizabeth Hosking
Lauren Caruso
Federica Frew
Kendra Heil
Nicole Julian
Cecilia McIntosh
Alex Morcom
Natalie MacDonald
Lori Stepnell
Taylor Moss
Terira Fry
Emma Mackay
Simone Nalder
Eloise Gardner
Jemma Finning
Elizabeth Snell
Gloria Elarmaly
Emilia Yassir
Georgie Prepakis
Development list
Laura Cocomello
Tamsin Crook
Tahlia Gillard
Grace Dicker
Zali Friswell
Shelby Meyers
Kasey Lennox
Neve Crowley
Thomay Nicolaou
GEELONG
Breanna Beckley
Sachi DeGiacomi
Michelle Fedele
Natalie French
Claudia Gunjaca
Erin Hoare
Lucy Martin
Emma Oliver
Rebecca Pearce
Breanna Pratt
Laura Ryan
Tanacha Saunders
Tamara Smith
Tahlia Tatlock
Jamie Woollett
Aily McAuliffe
Olivia Fuller
Development list
Sarah Elsworthy
Annabel Johnson
Chloe Leonard
Ava McKeegan
Theresia Meissner
Paige Sheppard
Renee Tierney
Annie Lee
Tess Craven
HAWTHORN
Kate Dudley
Lauren Szigeti
Kristen Hay
Tayah Kelly
Maddi Shaw
Jenna Richardson
Nicole Cormack
Lucy Morley
Olivia Flanagan
Katherine Newton
Gemma Proy
Hannah Dyson
Jessie Williams
Jess Trend
Amy Malander
Kaitlyn Carew
Sophie Bolding
Meg Hutchins
Emily Mcilvena
Katie Angelis
Alex Cuss
Abbey Holmes
Nicola Burns
Jemma Owen
Catherine Brown
Erin Byrnes
Dominique Carbone
Rachel Quirk
Development list
Chloe O’Malley
Isabelle Khoury
Jess Guy-Toogood
Tilly Hardy
Jess Grace
Grace McRae
Annalise Vine
Chloe Bain
NORTH MELBOURNE
Meagan Kiely
Molly Eastman
Ciara Fitzgerald
Reni Hicks
Airlie Runnalls
Jessica Mourney
Megan Lawrence
Tiahna Cochrane
Mietta McDonald
Alexia Hamilton
Naomi Celebre
Alana Sarec
Nikki Wallace
Jayde Hamilton
Sarah Skinner
Brooke Slaney
Nadia Moore
Kate Greenacre
Kira Price
Megan Neill
Development list
Jasmine Goodman
Marli Klaumans-Moller
Laura Amelung
Laura Wright
Caitlyn Gashi
Olivia Woods
Mia Cowan
Lauren Taylor
Cassandra Pittard
PORT MELBOURNE
Holly Bailey
Lisa Davie
Belinda Ousley
Maddy Baldwin
Melissa Kuys
Lindsay Clarke
Katrina Tinson
Claire Dyett
Jennifer Osman
Emily Bliss
Isabella Stutt
Riley Cridland
Elizabeth Muir
Phillipa Peschke
Abbey Tanner
Sarah McNamara
Caelah Stanley
Ellie MacDonald
Teah Stepan
Development list
Olivia Barton
Bridie Kennedy
Lucy De Gleria Cade
Courteney Bromage
Sophie Locke
Elizabeth Wilson
Millie Shone
Tara Jasper
Nayely Borg
Kate Adams
SOUTHERN SAINTS
Tara Bohanna
Lucy Burke
Aisling Curley
Anna Harris
Fransesca Hocking
Grace Hodder
Alexandra Hynes
Deanna Jolliffe
Georgia McLean
Valerie Moreau
Rebecca Neaves
Ebony Nixon
Kayla Ripari
Amy Silver
Tenaya Sooalo
Maddison Southam
Hannah Stuart
Ebany Vanderheym
Development list
Mel Bertuna
Madison Capsalis
Gabriella De Angelis
Zoe Hill
Abbey Jordan
Tayla Kearns
Amelia Peck
Dayna Smith
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Nicole McMahon
Simone Ruedin
Amanda Tessari
Mary Sandral
Riley Christgoergl
Amber Wescombe
Katelyn Betts
Brooke Hards
Annabel Scott
Ellie Huggard
Vanessa Murphy
Brodie Stevens
Jessica Crundall
Louise Bibby
Courtney Mullins
Tayla Dinuccio
Eliza Morrison
Megan Chadwick
Development list
Isabel Young
Nikita Wright
Nekaela Butler
Mara McSweeney
Eliza Vale
Georgia Marsland
Katrina Neumann Stone
Molly Denahy Maloney
Marguerite Purcell
Bridie Kinghorn
WILLIAMSTOWN
Alana Dickie
Asha Price
Ashlea Melnikas
Tayla Stewart
Bridget Hanrahan
Eliza Straford
Erin Meade
Gabrielle Biedenweg-Webster
Lauren Suleiman
Elizabeth McGrath
Megan Williamson
Ruby Tripodi
Scareltt Dunell
Tori Snelleksz
Bridget Costello
Emily Fox
Lana King
Aleisha Casley
Claire Ryan
Lisa Loughnane
Amanda Maginn
Olivia Purcell
Elise Muller
Lauren Gooden
Ella Baxter
Amy Starzer
Abbey Bertram
Aimee Whelan
Emily Casey
Chelsea Fisher
Development list
Malaya Rodezno
Danika Di Santo
Zoe Garth
Sasha Long
Sofi Georgas
Thalia Wright
Tahlia Merrett
Paige Nash
Payton Ozols
Chloe Leighton
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