TWO Mount Gambier junior footballers have been selected for the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Under 16 and Under 18 Female State Academy teams.
Madi Freeman (Under 18) and Brooke Tonon (Under 16) played in the SANFL Statewide Super Shield competition for Glenelg in August/September last year and from there were selected for their respective state programs.
“You had to play in the SANFL competition and we played for Glenelg,” Tonon said.
“Then our coach had to choose some of the players to go to the state academy team.”
The Under 18 squad will make the trip to Darwin to compete against the Northern Territory on May 25 and 27 in Round 1 of the AFLW National Championships.
From there, a Central Allies (NT/SA) side will be selected, which will compete against the Eastern Allies (NSW/ACT/Tas), Vic Country and Vic Metro teams for Round 2 of the nationals in Queensland.
The Under 16 team will play its first game as a curtain-raiser for the Adelaide versus Collingwood AFL match on April 13 and Tonon said she is “very excited” for the opportunity.
This will be followed by a clash with the Vic Metro team in Horsham on June 10, where the best 24 players will be selected to play.
Both players are passionate about the sport and have each been heavily involved in football over the last few years.
For Freeman, she said the interest was always there, but it was Keith Allan, father of Adelaide Crows players Jess and Sarah Allan, who encouraged her to start playing.
“My dad always played,” she said.
“Then Keith Allan got me started playing down here and it went from there.”
When asked about what she enjoys most about the sport, Freeman said the atmosphere is one of the drawing factors for her.
“It does not matter if it’s a women’s or men’s game, just the amount of people who come out and support,” she said.
“When you watch a Crows game or something you imagine playing there.”
“We played a curtain-raiser last year and there was not as many people as the men, but still the amount of people who come was great,” Freeman said.
Freeman started her football career in the South East Women’s football league in 2016 and hopes to one day be drafted at the Adelaide Crows herself.
“I did not play in the local (league) because I played in Adelaide before there was one here,” she said.
“I played for Salisbury last year and obviously Glenelg, but I’m not sure who I am playing for this year.”
For Tonon, it was her eagerness to give anything a go which saw her take up football, after she saw another girl at her brother’s training at East Gambier.
“I had netball try-outs and James (Tonon) was going to football training and I saw a girl playing,” she said.
“So I thought I better have a go.”
Tonon has played with the boys at East since 2014, winning the grand final last year in the Under 13’s.
This season she is playing in Under 14’s, but thinks this will be her last year in the boy’s league.
She has also been doing pre-season with the senior men, who she said have been a good help and very supportive.
Tonon said her favourite aspect of the sport is “the contact and tackling everyone”, as she thrives off the intensity of the game.
With the rapid increase in popularity since the inception of the AFLW last year, both girls said it is positive to see so many people playing, as well as supporting the development of the sport.
“It pushes you more to be better because there is more competition,” Tonon said.
Freeman said it is especially good to see this extra support for the younger players coming through the ranks.
“With Brooke and the younger girls coming through, there is so much more expectation for them, so having so much support really helps,” she said.
“I played with a few girls who are now playing with the Crows and when they went through there was not as much support.
“Now we have our own strength and conditioning programs, we do our own recovery sessions and there is a heap more involvement from everyone.”
