Laura Ritchie, 17, Tara Elliott, Chelsea Quinn and Ashlea Ferguson, all 16, were selected in the Raewyn Poumako and Chris van Kempen-led Western Region under 17s team that will travel to Shepparton for the competition in October. 

The four girls all play together in the Eagles’ under 17s side coached by Louise Chow and are looking forward to the opportunity to play together at a higher level.

“It’s really good because we are all so close and play together on a Saturday,” Ferguson said.

Elliott said the four of them had created a bond together.

“We definitely (have built a connection). We have felt it more of a connection this year playing at North together,” she said.

Quinn said she was excited to test herself against new opponents.

“I’m looking forward to seeing all the metro teams from Melbourne as they are usually pretty strong and it’s good to compare the country girls to the city girls and see how we go,” she said. 

Quinn said they had not had a training with the other girls yet but that the Eagles were eager to start building connections.

“We will be focusing on combinations and working out where the best ones are to start the team,” she said.

Ferguson said it would be a learning curve for the whole team.

“Because we haven’t played together we will have to learn who plays well together,” she said.

South Warrnambool, Warrnambool, Koroit, Portland, Cobden and Camperdown are also represented in the region’s representative side.