FOUR local football girls are confident they can bring home the School Sport Australia National AFL Championship trophy after gaining selection in the Western Australian team.
Olivia Turner, Sabreena Duffy, Courtney Fabry and Kira Morrison were selected in the final WA squad from a group of 80 after four rounds of trials.
“It’s was one of those moments you could cry,” Fabry said upon hearing the news she had made the team.
Duffy was at school when she found out.
“I was on the IPad in drama class and kept refreshing the page every five minutes to see if I’d been selected,” she said.
Morrison said she didn’t believe her mum when she was told the news.
“I thought mum was kidding,” Morrison said.
“I didn’t think I would even make it through the first round.
“I only started playing this year.”
Turner’s mum bought her a balloon.
“It’s very exciting,” Turner said.
The quartet are all team members of the Peel Thunderbirds youth side and all share a similar love for the sport.
“I love how physical it is,” Duffy said.
“No other sport is like it; others aren’t physical enough.
“Just the adrenaline you get of getting tackled or just breaking a tackle.”
Turner said she loved the challenge of a sport which is normally viewed as a male only game.
Turner was the only one who had a brother who played football and that was only at Auskick level while for Fabry it was a family affair.
“All my sisters and my mum even play footy,” she said.
“[We’re] a real footy family.”
With the Thunderbirds on top of the ladder the group thought the WA state team would be just as hard to beat as they go for back-to-back titles.
“I think we will win it,” Duffy said.
“We’re definitely a good chance,” Morrison said.
“We have a strong team.”
The girls agreed that their stiffest rival would be Victoria.
“They pretty much the same team as last year,” Turner said.
“We watched a video of Victoria from last year and they look tough.”
“They’re all really big,” Duffy said.
The players will travel to Sydney this week with the competition running from July 18 to 27.
They will come up against the best female football talent from Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Victoria.
For Morrison it will be their first trip away from home.
“The last time I was on a plane I was four so it will be my first trip away,” she said.
“We get to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge so that will be good.”
Three local boys will also represent WA in the under 15s championship.
Lachlan Boogaard-Mitchell, Jack Norman and Patrick Italiano all made the team who will travel to Sydney.
