Two of the stars of the AFL North West women's competition will be pressing their claims for AFLW draft consideration over the coming weeks.
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Gunnedah's Alice Mitchell and Inverell's Gab Mooney have been selected to play in the AFLW NSW/ACT Summer Series.
The series is supported by both the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants and has been designed to identify talent from across NSW and the ACT for draft selection ahead of next season's AFLW competition.
It kicks off this Saturday with each of the clubs fielding two sides.
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Mitchell and Mooney will both play for the Swans Red side, which is comprised of players from Northern NSW.
Both have played high level representative AFL before.
Mitchell represented NSW/ACT and the Eastern Allies at the AFLW under-18 Championships for two years and was part of the GWS's Winter Series squad in 2019, while Mooney is a former Queensland junior representative at National Championships and has previously played in the Queensland state league.
She is also a multiple winner of the AFL North West Best and Fairest, taking out the accolade last season for the second time to become the first player to win the award twice.
The opening round of games follows a week of orientation and combine-style testing.
Community Football and Competition Manager for Northern NSW (NNSW) Paul Taylor said that the series represents an outstanding chance for the local players to show their wares to recruiters.
"Not only are the Swans looking to build a team to enter next year's AFLW competition, the Giants will also be looking for draft prospects," Taylor said.
"This is an unbelievable chance for players with elite ambition to take the next step towards their dream of an AFLW berth - this is their chance to prove themselves against the best.
"Our Northern NSW region has already had three AFLW listed players and we hope that the six players involved in the Summer Series can provide the next wave of local talent to make it to the elite level."
Kate Mahony, Executive General Manager -AFLW for the Swans, acknowledged the critical role the Summer Series will play in unearthing talent.
"It takes a tremendous amount of effort to build a quality list from scratch, and the Women's Summer Series is bringing NSW and ACT footballers together to compete to be the best. This series is a step closer to creating history at the club, as we look to forming a competitive AFLW team," Mahony said.
"It will be incredibly exciting to watch the series discover future AFLW athletes from across local competitions, as they chase their dream of pulling on the red and white guernsey. We're looking forward to scouting as many future Swans athletes as possible."
