Senior rep footy update

AFL CW Eagles Women's side, led by captain Katie Kennedy take the field ahead of the 2021 representative match. PHOTO: Ben Neely

 

After discussions between AFL Central West and AFL Sapphire Coast, it has been decided that the Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s Rep matches between the two leagues will not proceed on July 2 as planned.

Although we understand the value of Senior rep footy, and appreciate the commitment of players, this decision was made to allow our clubs and players to focus solely on the season ahead, without having the extra pressure of Representative footy.

As leagues continue to be impacted directly or indirectly by covid and weather events, we determined that a representative match mid season will put too much pressure on each league’s local resources.

AFL Central West Competition Coordinator , Casey White said “the partnership between our leagues that began in 2019 with women’s rep is one which we all want to continue.

“Unfortunately, without the Shoalhaven Carnival as a middle-ground, one region was going to have to travel significantly more than usual to get a game played.

“This, in addition to the volunteer workload required to coordinate rep footy, made it unreasonable to effectively manage, particularly when considering the number of roles and responsibilities our volunteers are already completing at club level.”

Both leagues agreed that they will look at every possible avenue to play these matches this year. By postponing senior rep, the leagues now have the best chance to field strong sides whilst also allowing the opportunity to invite other nearby leagues to participate.

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