PORT ADELAIDE is pleased to announce the participants in its 2021 Female Next Generation Academy program.

The NGA is made up of players from the South Adelaide, West Adelaide, Woodville-West Torrens and Norwood football clubs.

Port Adelaide’s squad of 24 has been participating in football and educational sessions at Alberton Oval, learning what the game looks like at the next level and having access to some of the AFL club’s high-performance staff.

“We do things like mindfulness, nutrition, physical recovery and injury management,” explained NGA coach Naomi Maidment.

“We like the program to be as educational for the off-the-field stuff as it is for the football side of things.

“The girls are at a point now where they’re playing and training more than they ever have so the program is not based entirely around football, but moreso education and opportunities that they wouldn’t not get with their ordinary trainings at their local clubs.”

The squad is made up of young women under the age of 16 and has experienced a relatively high turnover this year with only seven remaining from the 2020 season.

Maidment said it was exciting to see so many new faces and to see some of the previous team progress onto SANFLW and AFLW level.

“We’ve got some girls this year who are really young still but have been lucky enough to make their SANFLW debut,” she said.

“That means they are playing against senior women but they are doing well and that bodes well for the future of our program.

“It’s exciting that they have not only been selected but that they are able to make an impact at the SANFLW level and it’s a credit to their local clubs as well.”

Among those to have been selected are the 2020 captain Lauren Young (West Adelaide) and Eagles pair Shineah Goody and Marlie Fiegert – the daughter of Port Adelaide premiership player Nigel Fiegert.

“Lauren Young was the Powerade breakthrough player of Round 1. She was the leading disposal getter on the ground in her debut match, which is an exceptional debut,” Maidment said of the teenager.

“She’s a really strong player and is certainly capable of playing against women, even as a 15-year-old at the moment.

“Quite often you’ll find her playing in a key position at centre half forward or centre half back but she also lined up in the midfield on the weekend and has backed up that debut performance in the last two weeks, which is great.

“Shineah Goody and Marlie Fiegert have also debuted for Woodville-West Torrens. Shineah was best on ground in her debut and Marlie has been contributing since making her debut a couple of weeks ago as well.”

Port Adelaide’s NGA will train together over the coming weeks before scheduling a game against Adelaide’s NGA next month.

2021 Female NGA squad