Maddie Edwards excited by new adventure with Coburg women’s team

Coburg’s inaugural women’s team is taking shape and the club’s first ever signing, Maddie Edwards, reveals why joining the Lions was too good to pass up.

Coburg women's first signing – Maddie Edwards.

It was an opportunity too good to pass up for Maddie Edwards – the first player to sign for Coburg’s women’s team.

“When I got given the opportunity, at first I was pretty taken aback, I wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said.

“Just talking about it, it sounded like such a good experience and being the first signed female is awesome.

“I feel after the year we’ve had I wanted a year to enjoy my footy and being able to play at Coburg at a high standard but not the high expectations, I feel like that’s going to be a positive influence.”

The Lions will enter the South Eastern Women’s Football League in 2021, a historic step for the 130-year-old club.

Coburg women's first signing – Maddie Edwards – in action at training.

Edwards arrives at Piranha Park after playing spending 2019 playing for Richmond in the VFLW and Eastern Ranges in the NAB League.

The young star, who is studying a degree in wildlife and biology conservation, belies her age with her approach to the game and brings much-needed leadership to a fledging team.

“I knew Coburg always had a good reputation for culture and I thought after the year we’ve had it was the sort of club I wanted to get around,” she said.

“Hearing all the positive comments about the club definitely drew me there and (coach) Liam (Cavanagh) being so supportive and open to chat made me confident I was making the right decision.

“I was ready to take that (leadership) on for next year, being a leader at a club is something I pride myself on.

Photos from across the 2021 Senior Women's Preseason training sessions

Posted by Coburg Football Club on Tuesday, December 1, 2020

“It’s an aspect of my footy I want to improve and that’s another thing that drew me to the club, being able to stand up and take on that responsibility.”

Coburg has announced a two more signings for next season, Mia Muscat from Doutta Stars and Hannah Fosbrooke from Darebin.

The Lions have started pre-season training as they look to build their team.

Edwards said it was “refreshing” to be out running and kicking the footy again after being in lockdown for much of the year.

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Cavanagh, who was appointed Coburg coach earlier this year, said Edwards perfectly fitted the Coburg brand.

“We’ve been really careful and slow with the selection process because we’ve had a massive amount of interest,” he said.

“Maddie is obviously a fantastic footballer but we were really excited about, even if she never gets a kick, she’d be a great person to have around the club.

“She’s super engaged, a really smart kid who loves her footy but also wants the exciting project of building a club up from scratch.”