Tara Murray
Several players from across Melbourne’s north-west will test themselves against the best under-18 female talent at the 2022 NAB AFLW National Championships.
Vic Metro and Vic Country squads have been revealed, with the first game between the two sides taking place on Sunday.
Players from the Western Jets, Calder Cannons and Northern Knights featured in the metro squad.
The Western Jets had the equal most players in the squad with six.
Jets’ skipper Charlotte Baskaran, who is from Caroline Springs and plays at Aberfeldie, headlines the group.
Keilor’s Montana Ham, Caroline Springs’ Kiers Whiley and Caitilin Sargent, Point Cook Centrals’ Laura Eliot and Yarraville-Seddon’s Krystal Russell are also in the squad.
Calder Cannons pair Abbey McDonald and Reese Sutton are both in the squad. It was announced last week that the pair had aligned with the Sunbury Kangaroos as their local club for this season. Both are also on Essendon’s Victorian Football League list.
There are also four Northern Knights players in the squad in Banyule’s Ava Jordan, Fitzroy’s Rylie Willcox, Diamond Creek women’s Brooke Plummer and Darebin’s Lulu Beatty.
Calder Cannons’ Jacara Egan will break new ground by being the first Indigenous woman to coach a Victorian team on Sunday, when she leads Vic Metro.
There is also a local feel in the country side, with Bacchus Marsh’s Jamie Lee Speakman who plays for the Greater Victorian Western Rebels, part of that team.
The carnival will continue throughout April, with teams from South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, NSW/ACT and the Allies, which includes players from Tasmania and Northern Territory for the first game with players from NSW/ACT incorporated into the Allies for the other two matches.
Each Victorian team will play three matches at the carnival. There will be a triple header at Werribee’s Avalon Airport Oval on April 22.
