Nicole Bresnehan says women’s footy is bigger and better in 2020 as AFLW expands
Women’s football continues to grow at a phenomenal rate, at grassroots and the elite level, and the AFLW is the beneficiary.
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THOSE thinking an expansion of teams in the AFLW will lead to a dilution of talent had better think again, says rising star Nicole Bresnehan.
What started as an eight-team competition in 2017 has grown to 14 for its fourth season when it starts on Friday night.
And just like the competition, Tasmania’s representation has also expanded significantly, from four in year one to 12 this year, while also forging a relationship with North Melbourne for the North Melbourne-Tasmanian Kangaroos.
The Roos will start their second AFLW season next Saturday in Melbourne and will play home games in Launceston (February 15 against GWS Giants) and North Hobart (March 7 against Adelaide).
The 2020 AFLW season will include Richmond, the Gold Coast, West Coast and St Kilda for the first time – but not at the expense of the standard of competition, Bresnehan believes.
“Gone are the days where an athlete got a game, now you have to be good at footy as well, which isn’t something that wasn’t the case in year one,” Bresnehan said.
“It definitely has grown and become really competitive.
“Expansion does bring a lot more players into the game but at the same time they now have some really good pathways for the younger girls coming through.
“You see the first round of the draft they are 18-year-old girls that are playing in round one.
“The pool of talent is getting really big and therefore we can afford to expand a little bit more I think.”
It is yet another big season for women’s football in Tasmania.
Aside from the rise of AFLW players, AFL Tasmania will this year field a full on side in the elite under-18 girls competition, the NAB League.
The Roos selected a further three Tasmanians in last year’s draft, Launceston duo Mia King and Abbey Green, while Ellie Gavalas played soccer in Tasmania for Olympia and the National Training Centre squad before taking up Australian rules in Melbourne for the Western Bulldogs VFLW team and being selected in the VFLW team of the year.
Bresnehan, 22, said all three had impressed and are chances to debut this season.
The Clarence player is the ideal mentor for the trio, having been the last player selected in the 2018 draft yet forcing her way into the Roos first ever team through hard work and persistence in front of a big crowd at North Hobart Oval.
“It was quite a bit of a blur but also a shock,” she said.
It was something I really wanted so bad.
“Being drafted with the last pick on a really great list, I didn’t exactly think it was how it was all going to play out.”
The AFLW will continue with its controversial conference system that last year denied the Roos a finals spot as the third ranked team in their conference, despite having more wins than the top two teams of the rival conference.
But Bresnehan said she understood the reasoning behind the split system, especially with a 14-team competition playing in an eight round season.
“I think it is the best way they can go about it at the moment,” she said.
“I think they have looked at it a little bit to make sure they are evenly spread the new teams and they have really put quite a bit of effort into it to make sure it is as even as possible.”
THE TASSIE CONNECTION
Brisbane
Jessica Wuetschner (Clarence via East Fremantle WAWFL) — medium forward
North Melbourne
Daria Bannister (Launceston) — forward pocket
Nicole Bresnehan (Clarence) — half back flank
Ellie Gavalas (Olympia via Western Bulldogs VFLW) — wing/midfield
Brittany Gibson (Burnie) — centre half back
Abbey Green (Launceston) — ruck
Chloe Haines (Burnie) — half forward flank
Libby Haines (Burnie) — medium defender
Emma Humphries (Burnie) — wing
Mia King (Launceston) — midfield
Western Bulldogs
Ellyse Gamble (Burnie) – ruck/forward
GWS Giants
Ingrid Nielsen (Hobart via Uni NSW/ES Bulldogs) — ruck
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