Of the 15 players selected by the GIANTS in Wednesday’s 2016 NAB AFL Women’s Draft in Melbourne, 10 come from New South Wales or the ACT.
For four of those – Rebecca Beeson, Renee Tomkins, Erin McKinnon and Kate Stanton – their journeys to the draft couldn't have been more different, but their goals are the same. They want to grow the game.
Beeson, a forward with the UNSW Stingrays, has been looking forward to the creation of AFL Women’s for some time.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this to come around, especially growing up playing footy,” she said.
“I’ve been playing footy since I was 12, it’s come around a lot sooner than I Thought so it’s exciting that it’s actually happening.”
Tomkins, who only took up football recently, has already had a taste of elite sport having represented Australia in indoor soccer and played in the W-League.
“I played for the Marconi Stallions and a season for wanderers,” the Penerith Rammettes defender said.
“I went down to watch one of my mates games (of AFL) and just fell in love with it.
“She was like ‘you should try it’ and as soon as I kicked the ball that was it.”
Erin McKinnon who was taken with pick 48 of the NAB AFL Women’s Draft had a hand in creating a club team just to get a kick.
“I played netball, basketball and volleyball growing up, and my brother started playing Auskick when I was 12. I thought it looked like such a great game that I wanted to get started,” she said.
“I approached by local club, the Mosman Swans and there wasn’t a youth girls team.
“They said if you go and get the right amount of girls to come then we will provide you with uniforms to help you get going.
“That was five years ago now.”
For Stanton, a goal sneak from the Wollongong Saints, playing in the inaugural AFL Women’s competition is the chance to inspire future generations.
“Excited is the only word to describe it, it’s such an amazing opportunity,” she said.
“You just want to grab it with both hands and really, hopefully, propel women’s footy to where it should be, and really show Australia that women have the capability to play a really good brand of footy.”
Beeson believes AFL Women’s will do just that and holds high hopes for how the competition will impact women’s football in New South Wales.
“The standard in Sydney has definitely improved over the last couple of years, especially now the national league is coming,” she said.
“I think more girls will take it more seriously, more girls will want to play it at a younger level.”
