Tasmanian based North Melbourne AFLW players make move to Melbourne to join pre-season

North Melbourne has ditched its attempt to have separate training bases across the Bass Strait for its AFLW players, with four locally based Tasmanians moving to Victoria for pre-season.

• Emerging state talent closer to representing Tasmania
• Kangas to kick off at North Hobart Oval

NORTH Melbourne’s quartet of Tasmanian-based AFLW players have moved interstate to participate in the club’s 2021 pre-season.

Since obtaining a licence in 2019, the Roos’ locals have split training sessions in Tasmania and at Arden Street, but Nicole Bresnehan, Brooke Brown, Daria Bannister and Mia King have packed up and headed across Bass Strait to be part of the program full time.

Bannister will miss the majority of the pre-season as she continues rehabilitation from surgery last month to repair her left meniscus she injured in the TSLW grand final.

Tasmanian AFLW Kangaroos player Nicole Bresnehan has joined her locally based teammates in moving to Melbourne for pre-season. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The club’s two other Tasmanian players, Ellie Gavalas and Britt Gibson, have been living in Melbourne for the past few years.

Coach Darren Crocker said while there was some initial hesitation from the four on making the move, they were now settled and attacking the pre-season with a full head of steam.

“We’re really keen to have a full-squad mentality, especially with the season building out a bit [to nine home and away rounds], so it’s going to be really important to rely on all 30 girls,” Crocker told womens.afl.

“I’ve been catching up with them individually over the last few weeks, and there was a bit of apprehension and tension from the Tassie girls initially, but now they’re up here, they can’t believe it’s taken them this long to get here.

“I’m pleased, because a few of the meetings in 2020 where the girls were zooming in from Tassie, it was pretty difficult. They weren’t getting the actual education and individual development they needed to grow their games, which they’re hopefully getting now.”

Mia King of the Kangaroos is tackled by Alana Porter of the Magpies during the 2020 AFLW Semi Final match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Collingwood Magpies at Ikon Park on March 21, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

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