Gold Coast Suns AFLW coach David Lake wants the best NT women players on his list

The rising stars of Territory women’s football will be targeted as part of Gold Coast’s AFLW recruiting and pathways program

Gold Coast Suns AFLW coach David Lake with Territory women's football identity Colleen Gwynne. Picture: Supplied

GOLD Coast Suns AFLW coach David Lake wants more Territory talent to complete his playing list.

The Suns made the finals in their first season and Lake is convinced the skill and game changing ability of Territory footballers will add considerable depth to the club.

The Suns took 20-year-old Baird as the 54th pick in this year’s national draft, making her the third NT player in the AFLW squad alongside Alice Springs’ Jordann Hickey and Sally Riley.

“The girls at the club have brought right into Janet joining us because they realise she can play footy along with her skills and ability to change the direction of a game,’’ Lake told the NT News.

“But even important is the spirit she has, where her will to win and pride where she wants to lead the way and be the girl from the Territory others will follow, shines through.’’

Lake was in Darwin last week to get a first hand look at the Territory’s rising stars and liked what he saw.

“I watched a girl like (Southern Districts’) Bella Clarke, who clearly has a lot of talent, but the question is, how can we help girls like her take the next step?’’ Lake said.

“What is the framework required and what does the bridge look like to help her get to where she wants to go?

“J’Noemi Anderson at St Mary’s is another one with a lot of talent who plays a lot like her brother (North Melbourne’s Jed Anderson).

“Those are the players we want to form relationships with and work with them to find the right pathway to get them to the top.’’

The Suns have already dug into their north Queensland zone and with Baird now on board, Lake wants to establish a permanent pathway between the Territory and the Gold Coast.

“If we can form a similar relationship with the Territory where we’ve got players parked here and ready to go when we’ve invested in their learning, it will benefit both parties,’’ he said.

The Suns’ debut finals appearance was hard earned after four around Australia trips in as many weeks.

“We got a touch-up from Fremantle in our final, but we were cooked after playing in Melbourne, Mackay, Perth and Perth again in four weeks, which I don’t reckon would happen in the men’s space,’’ Lake said.

“We achieved to our capacity and we’ve got so many things to get better at in terms of the way our program is built.

“That has already happened in the off-season where we’ve put a lot of work in to getting those programs more organised and improving our playing list.

“It’s why I feel like we can go forward again with the type of players we’ve brought in and that jigsaw requires someone like Janet Baird.’’