Stone the crows but there’s an Irishwoman looking to make big waves in Australia playing one of the country’s most popular sports.
Former Dublin ladies footballer Sinead O’Mahony is one of a select group of 140 women this weekend who will be hoping to impress AFL scouts at a combine being held in Whitten Oval in Melbourne.
The 26-year-old teacher will join dozens of current non-AFL players as they try out for the very first female football national talent search, ahead of what it is hoped will be the creation of a female league next season.
Just a handful of players will be deemed good enough to earn themselves a place in female state academies, as the AFL looks to put in place enough athletes to create a roster of talented players for a competitive league.
The Skerries Harps woman recently moved to Australia, and speaking to the AFL website, the forward, who claims Kerry heritage through her father, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of AFL legend Tadgh Kennelly, who won a Premiership medal with Sydney Swans in 2009.
“Tadgh came over with a similar skill set and he obviously brought something new and something different, and I hope I can do that too.
“It is great to see there have been guys from Ireland who have come over and played and done so well.
“If he can do it, I can do it.”
The combine is likely to test the female athletes in much the same way that the men’s combines here in Ireland have worked, with players set to be tested both on their physical fitness, as well as their handling of the oval ball.
The AFL women’s website states some of the tests Sinead is likely to face
‘standing and running vertical jumps, agility, 20m sprint and the shuttle run (beep test).’
O’Mahony is nervous, but is confident in her own ability to impress,
“I’ve been kicking about with friends the last couple of days just to get my kicking and handballing right,” she said.
“A bit more practice on it and it shouldn’t be too hard to pick up. Hopefully this will go really well and drive the women’s AFL competition.
Best of luck Sinead, and we hope to see her in action in the near future.
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