PORT ADELAIDE will house the South Australian Under-18 girls football program in 2016, with the state’s best underage female talent to work within the elite facilities at Alberton Oval.
The Under-18 girls squad has recently commenced training at Port Adelaide’s headquarters ahead of its preparations for its 2016 national championships campaign.
They will also benefit from AFL-standard coaching and instruction through seminars run by the Power’s senior coaching panel and high-performance staff.
Port Adelaide’s general manager of football Chris Davies says the opportunity to work with and develop emerging junior female talent is important to the Power’s vision, which includes having an elite female team playing in the forthcoming national women’s competition.
“Our ambition with female football is clear, and to have the state under-18 team developing their talent at Alberton is something we’re excited about housing,” Davies told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“It’s good for female footy, and footy in general, and our coaches and high-performance staff will work closely with the state team’s coaches and players throughout the year as the prepare and play in the national championships.”
Davies says Port Adelaide wants to also invest in grassroots football, particularly as both the AFL and SANFL ramp up their commitment to female development.
He used the example of Australian basketballer Erin Phillips as a ‘worst-case’ scenario for Australian Football that Port Adelaide wants to play a part in remedying.
Phillips - daughter of Port Adelaide premiership captain Greg - was forced to abandon her promising talent for football under previous junior structures which had limited opportunities for girls to continue to senior competitions.
While Erin Phillips will play for Port Adelaide if it wins an AFL Women's licence, her football career was cut short at an early age through lack of opportunity. She now plays basketball in the USA
“Providing support and promoting the pathways that exist in the whole system are very important to us as well,” Davies said.
“A person like Erin Phillips – who is committed to joining a Port Adelaide team in a national women’s comp – is an example of someone who played football in junior grades, but was lost to the game as an elite talent once opportunities in older age groups were closed off.
“Senior pathways now exist, and we don’t want to see another Erin Phillips lost to the game, and we want to be proactive in giving young girls education and opportunity to aspire to an elite level.”
The SANFL's football operations manager Adam Kelly said the chance to run the state girl's under-18 team out of Alberton was a big win for female football development in South Australia.
"Through access to Port Adelaide facilities and the availability of club personnel and their expertise, we will be able to compliment the learning and development opportunities for Academy members in preparation for the national championships in May," Kelly said.
"Now is a very exciting time to be involved in our game as a female and our players are suitably keen to make the most of the opportunity to showcase the talent in the State and demonstrate the benefits of the hard work they are putting in."
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