Women will take centre stage in the AFL North West this weekend.
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The league will hold its first Women in Sport round on Saturday - an initiative that was formulated by clubs and then picked up by the league.
"This is the first time as a league we've promoted it and it was driven by the clubs," AFL North West president Sonia Martin said.
"It was something the clubs wanted and when we presented it more formally to all the clubs, it was voted in unanimously."
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The women will play in the "prime time" spot, the last game of the day, while there will also be youth girls exhibition matches at Gunnedah and Inverell.
"It's like a come and try exhibition match that will be supported by the women around the clubs who'll be out on the ground," Martin said.
"It means girls can come, even if they have no footy skills, they can come along, have a lot of fun and be supported on the field."
Martin said the league is planning on holding more youth girls exhibition matches, as well as gala days, and they are also planning on fielding a representative team.
It is another step forward for the women's game in the North West which has come a long way since its inception, Martin said.
"It started as a bit of a kick and giggle but now it's really good footy," Martin said.
"You can see the set plays, you can see the skills, the distance and accuracy they're kicking with - it's become a really good spectacle.
"The development over the past four years has been sensational."
She added: "The other thing Sydney Swans will have a women's team in the next couple of years so we're starting to look at the pathways to feed through to their academy."
Martin also said the "social connectiveness" between the men's and women's teams was phenomenal.
"A highlight is the way that I'm seeing lots of couples and families being involved in footy," she said.
"It's not just the sport, it's the social connectiveness. It's not just the men going to have a beer with their mates - it's everyone together doing the social thing together.
"I'm really enjoying seeing that side of things in the clubs and the league."
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
