PORT Adelaide’s inclusion in the AFL Women’s competition is not only significant for the club itself, but it spreads out here into Gawler, the Barossa and Light.
For the past five years, the AFLW competition has been dominated predominantly by the Adelaide Crows, who have snaffled the cream of the crop of South Australian talent.
Now, that gets into be enhanced with the inclusion of Australia’s most successful football club.
Port Adelaide, along with Hawthorn, Sydney and Essendon, received the tick to join from 2022- 23 and it could not be better timing.
The Barossa, Light & Gawler women’s competition has continued to flourish in recent years, and it’s only a matter of time before more stars from the region burst into the AFLW scene.
We’ve seen the success of Gawler’s Chloe Scheer at Adelaide.
Scheer, who has since moved to Geelong, won a premiership despite an ACL injury and subsequent knee reconstruction.
How many more locals will we see get their chance and how many more young women will now look at Australian football as a full-blown career pathway.
Will Katelyn Rosenzweig, who now plays at Willaston in the BLGW, get back into the AFLW after being on the Crows’ list during the 2019 premiership campaign?
Could SANFLW-listed talents such as Lauren Smith, Laitiah Huynh, Georgia Madigan and Shelby Smith snare a spot on Port’s inaugural list?
Those are questions we will see answered in the next 12-18 months, but right now, the pathway is there.
The dreams are closer to reality more than they ever have been, and it’s great for the sport and our region.
Let’s continue to support our local women and give them every opportunity to succeed.
