Incredible first outing for Grafton Tigers Women

Saturday 26 May was a watershed day for the Grafton Tigers footy club as 21 Women took to the field in the club’s colours for the first time in history.

The team played a demonstration match against the established Coffs Harbour Breakers team and gave an outstanding account of themselves considering only a couple had played previously and most had a mere one or two training sessions’ worth of experience under their belt.

Whilst the Breakers team proved too strong on the day, the Tigers matched them for effort and enthusiasm and competed strongly across the backline and through the midfield.

Matt Crawley, AFL NSW/ACT Development Manager said that the focus of the match wasn’t on the result. “Saturday’s match was all about providing an opportunity for Women to try AFL and see if it’s a sport that they might like to pursue.

“The Women who played all loved the experience, they enjoyed being able to tackle and be tackled, and found the fitness side of the game challenging yet rewarding. Their skills and game knowledge improved out of sight from the start of the match to the end and they’re all keen for more.

“Best of all there were shrieks of delight and laughter throughout as players found themselves in new situations. I have no doubt this has laid the platform for the formation of a Tigers Women’s team to enter the North Coast competition in 2019.”

A second demonstration match is scheduled for this Saturday (2 June) at Ellem Oval, Grafton, starting at 5:00pm. The match is open to any woman aged 16 or older with no cost to play and no experience necessary. Anyone interested in playing should contact the AFL Northern NSW office on 6659 6000.