Eve Aulsebrook gets a handball away before being wrapped up by Zoe Tarbolton at Mack Oval on Monday night.
GIRLS who love their footy have been called on to lace up their boots and help build a strong Warrnambool competition.
The AFL Victoria initiative for girls aged between 13 and 17 had its season opener at Mack Oval on Monday night and will continue running with support from the Hampden Football Netball League and Warrnambool and District Football and Netball League.
Warrnambool Youth Girls Football manager Peter Allan said so far 25 players were committed and competing in games with 12 on each side.
However, he said more participation was needed to develop the competition, which offers girls an opportunity to play football after leaving under 14s mixed divisions. “We’ve got to offer girls some option after under 14s,” Allan said.
“The option is basically to set up these types of competitions, but they take time to really consolidate and build up.
“As much as the response has been enthusiastic, the numbers haven’t been as strong as we need to sustain a competition.
“We realise it’s going to take a few years to really see where it’s going to go.”
He said last year’s competition had a strong initial showing, with players travelling from Mortlake, Cobden, Simpson and Timboon to play.
“There’s no doubt we’ll persevere so these girls have somewhere to go with their football,” Allan said.
“For the competition to build up, we need to attract more players and getting a strong ongoing response is the big difficulty we face.
“We will be persevering, talking it up and looking for other options to make sure it goes on.”
Anyone interested in joining the league should phone 0419 103 176 or 0409 178 843.