WAFLW Department Update

by Angus Schumacher, EPFC Community Engagement and Pathways Coordinator

It has been a busy period off the field for everyone involved in the East Perth Women’s program, as we prepare to strengthen our Rogers Cup squad and implement a strong program for our first season in the WAFLW League competition for 2023.  

All involved have been working tirelessly behind the scenes; identifying talent to form the majority of our initial WAFLW squad, as well as running our Metro Development Squad (MDS) to find future stars of East Perth, some of which will form part of our Rogers Cup Squad for season 2023.

Our MDS was comprised of 40 talented young footballers from within our East Perth community. These players participated in a 7-week program followed by two matches in the October School Holidays – versus Claremont & Perth. These sessions were a fantastic step forward, as we can begin to see the fruits of a full development pathway for females within the East Perth zone. We had great commitment from our development coaches, as well as our senior Rogers Cup players offering their time to help the next phase of East Perth players grow their skills and develop their game within the program.

With our Rogers Cup squad taking shape on the back of the MDS program, attention was then turned to finalising the final make-up of our senior pre-season training squad. We successfully ran a Talent ID session at Leederville Oval to further identify future players for our senior program. From this we added new players to our initial senior squad, enhancing our list of committed girls from the Perth Football League (PFL), other WAFLW clubs and our graduating Rogers Cup players.

Players began their pre-season on Monday 21 November, at their new base for Female programs, Dianella Regional Open Space. It was a brilliant start to our 2023 campaign, and the players were all in great spirits as they were put to their paces. For most of the senior squad, it was their first time in in the Blue and Black. It was a historic night for the East Perth Football Club, and we look forward to many more ‘firsts’ over the next 12 months.

We look forward to a great first month of training before we break off for Christmas and resume in the early new year. Please stay tuned as we update you on the journey of our WAFLW squads as we head into a big 2023 season.