Tara Murray
It may not be pretty on the scoreboard for North Sunshine, but it doesn’t tell the story for the Roadrunners in the Western Football League women’s competition.
The Roadrunners are winless this season and have been on the wrong end of some very big losses.
Coach Emily Smith said the group were so committed and just wanted to get better.
“It is amazing,” she said. “It’s been really enjoyable and the core group has been here for a while.
“There’s some new girls, some who have never played before and some from other clubs. We get compliments from other clubs that we keep turning up each week and I think we do much more than turn up.
“I tell people, the group don’t think twice about it.”
Smith said they’ve set smaller targets they want to achieve and are focusing on playing as a team.
She said making sure they enjoy it is something else they look at.
“Things like tackling and marking and some things they’ve never done before,” she said. “They tick them off each week.
“They’re slowly improving and making progress and having fun as they do it.”
Smith said one of the biggest things for the club was making sure they had that community connection and a place of belonging.
She said there were many women who had come to the club for their children and were volunteers who are now getting out there and playing.
Smith in her second season coaching the women’s side said she was loving being back involved and coaching.
She said she loved being back involved at her junior club.
She played her junior football at the club before moving on to play cricket, including playing in the WBBL.
Smith later returned to football and played nine games for Collingwood in the AFLW.
She said never say never to looking to playing AFLW again, but she said she’s enjoying her football now.
As well as coaching the Roadrunners, Smith is playing for Aberfeldie in the Essendon District Football League.
She said both clubs were supportive of allowing her to do both. The two clubs had a joint banner for my 200th game as a player.
“The girls now train on a different night,” she said. “It allows me to get down there and I coach before my game on a Saturday.
“I’m enjoying my time at Aberfeldie and it’s a chance to play at a club that will be in my life for a long time.”
There were no games on the weekend, with the Roadrunners back in action this week against the Suns.
