Albion’s girls football program is continuing to go from strength to strength, with several AFLW players investing time to help it grow.
The Cats will have under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-16 teams next season up from just one team in 2022 when they first fielded a girls team.
Western Bulldogs young forward Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner will coach the club’s inaugural under-16 girls team.
Weston-Turner, who was taken by the Bulldogs as the number one draft pick in 2023, grew up in the western suburbs.
The Cats’ Kane Roach said they were excited to have someone like Weston-Turner come on board.
“It’s huge,” he said. “We are absolutely stoked and she’s keen to kick off her coaching development and get into coaching.
“We have been talking and she’s really keen to fit it around her work as a professional footballer.
“She grew up in the area and started her footy at Sunshine Heights. She wants to make an impact on the next generation which is really cool.”
Roach said they had been really lucky with their girls program so far considering its still in its infancy.
He said they were 12 months ahead of schedule with where they thought the program would be.
“We’ve grown 300 per cent,” he said. “Four teams means we have the full junior pathway.
“It’s massive as we’re in a disadvantaged area and not a growth area.
“Many other clubs have tried and not been able to do it.”
As well as having Weston-Turner on board, the club is set to launch the Kearney Girls Footy Academy, run by North Melbourne AFLW star Emma Kearney.
The North Melbourne premiership captain and her partner and teammate Kate Shierlaw live locally and have been running one-on-one sessions with players and been involved at the Cats.
Shierlaw, Weston-Turner and Essendon AFLW Strength and conditioning coach and athletics coach Maddy Koeleman-Wilson will also provide specialist coaching as part of the academy.
Roach said it’ll be the first junior academy like this in the region which is really big for the club.
