The inaugural competition saw in excess of 100 girls register to take part which surprised Redlegs player Paris Crelley.

“It was really great to see so many girls take part,” she said

“Girls love their footy and there isn’t much of an opportunity for girls to take part.”

Paris played in the final which saw the Redlegs fall to Griffith 29 to 7 at the Leeton Showgrounds and was full of praise for both her side and the visitors.

“I probably didn’t play my best game,” she said 

“The Griffith girls were all really experienced and played really well on the night.

“Our girls played well too but they were just a bit too good for us.”

Paris is hopeful following the success of the first season of the competition it will continue to grow in the coming seasons.

“The girls have shown their interest and they really want to play footy,” she said.

“I am pretty confident the competition will be bigger and better next year.”

Che Jenkins, AFL NSW/ACT Development Coordinator – MIA said this was the foundation for a bigger picture in the future.

“The first year of the competition is just baby steps, but it gives us a great foundation moving forward,” he said.

“The end goal is to have a girls team associated with South West Riverina Football League teams.”

While there have been competitions like this around the wider Riverina, this is the first which has coincided with the national women’s competition which Mr Jenkins feels is driving the participation.

Jenkins said it was great to see pathways being developed for the girls wanting to play AFL.

“It is exciting for the females that come through the Auskick program,” he said.

“There is now a pathway from their through junior football, the youth competition and then the national competition.”

Paris success in the competition has seen her selected to travel to Coffs Harbour later this month as part of the AFL NSW-ACT Youth Girls state squad.