ELEVEN Peel Thunderbirds youth girls will have the chance to grace the turf at the home of football on Friday, when they represent WA in the A-section grand final of the 2016 AFL Youth Girls National Championships at the MCG.
Sabreena Duffy, Brittany Fabry, Courtney Fabry, Courtney Hodder, Mikaela Schoenfeld, Kate Bartlett, Kira Morrison, Ebonee Hardie, Isobella-Rose Haigh, Olivia Turner and Jess Hamilton make up nearly a third of WA’s 35-girl squad set to take on Victoria Metro.
WA female talent manager Alison Moore said the team was looking forward to playing on the MCG and taking on the reigning champions.
“From day one of the program the WA players have shown true belief and commitment, so to get this opportunity is very exciting,” she said.
WA coach Clint Degebrodt said he and the other coaching staff had been very impressed with the performance and resilience of the WA players throughout the championships.
“They’ve done themselves, their families and our state proud and we know they have the ability to go all the way if they apply themselves on the big stage tomorrow,” he said.
WA qualified for the decider with a thrilling one-point win over Queensland on Thursday, taking the game 7.7 (49) to 7.6 (48).
WA also defeated Victoria Country on day one of the championships 6.6 (42) to 5.3 (33) but lost to Victoria Metro 10.7 (67) to 3.5 (23) on day two.
Western Australia won the 2014 Youth Girls National Championships against Victoria Metro and finished third in 2015 behind grand finalists Vic Metro and Queensland.