The North Mandurah Football Club has celebrated the achievement of one of its largest passion projects - recruiting enough players for a women's team in time to compete in the 2021 football season.
The team took to the field for the first time on May 8 and club president Jody Elphinstone said it was an "emotional day" for everyone involved.
"We couldn't have been more proud of the day they put on their guernseys," Elphinstone said.
"It was quite emotional for members running the club for a long time to see it finally happen."
After tirelessly recruiting and advertising online for members, North Mandurah signed up 22 players from various walks of life for its women's team, some of whom had never played football before.
"Our registrar Tracey Genefini deserves all the credit for getting our team recruited. She posted numerous advertisements online and all of us got on board to share the posts - after a while, we had our team."
Elphinstone said the team bonded immediately and firmly supported each other through their first game.
"They were all a bit nervous at first but they got out there and it felt good," she said. "We will continue to grow and develop as a team, and build confidence, which comes with time and training."
Another heartwarming addition to the first game was the North Mandurah men's team members who made the drive down to Dwellingup to show their support.
"It was amazing to see - quite a lot of men from the men's division came down to support and cheer the ladies on."
The game was a challenging start to the season, with established team the Dwellingup Razorbacks taking the win by 86 points. But Elphinstone said the team was just getting started and would settle into the season after the initial nerves have wavered.
"It takes time to build as a team - we have some incredible talent and we will continue to grow and develop," she said.
"It's a really exciting time, the players have already made new friends and gotten involved in the football community - we are looking forward to continuing into the future with some of the young ladies in the junior ranks coming up into the seniors."
The women's team will next take on the Mandurah Mustangs on their home turf in Lakelands.
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Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
