News / Sport
Dragons unearth next generation of footy talent
Junior girls secure the first two premierships in their history
Erin MacLatchy
THE girls’ football program at Brunswick Dragons Junior Football Club has a bright future after winning not one, but two, premierships on the same day last month.
This is the first time any of the girls teams fielded by Brunswick have won a flag in their own right in the 15 years that the club has been running girls football.
The milestone was achieved when the under-11 and under-13 girls both won their grand finals at McDonell Park in Northcote on August 25.
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Since its establishment 15 years ago, Brunswick Dragons have been developing a strong girls football program.
Using a growth mindset approach, players learn to reflect on their games and identify their own strategies to improve. This process links directly to leadership opportunities with players involved in running drills, planning training and game day strategies.
There is also a strong focus on engaging across teams to build connections, with joint training events and older players assisting younger teams and Auskick.
Since implementing this approach, the girls teams at Brunswick have seen increased on-field success.
The oldest girls team has played finals the last three seasons and fed a steady stream of players into the AFL inter-league and talent programs.
An important sign of success of the program is also the high retention rate; at an age where many girls stop playing sports, the club has been really pleased to have so many players stay and new players continue to join the teams, including many who are new to footy.
The girls competition expanded in 2024 to include under-9s. This team grew across the season from four players in round one to 12 (a full size team for the age group) by the end of the season. The modified rules for the under-9 competition make it an ideal stepping stone from Auskick to junior footy. With the addition of under-9, Brunswick Dragons now have a pathway for girls footy from Auskick to Seniors.
The connection between teams is an important part of the club. Two graduated players have coached our older girls teams the past two seasons and this year we had current players coaching the under-9 girls. This has been a good demonstration of the way that leadership opportunities build confidence in our players.
In 2019, there were eight girls from Brunswick who played in a combined team with Fitzroy to win a joint youth girls premiership but the club was yet to win a flag outright with our own girls team.
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Under-13s premiers with their flag. -
The under-11s premiers.
A wind strongly favouring the city end of the oval was was a big factor in all the finals at McDonnell Reserve on August 25.
In their first year of playing competitive football this year, the under-11 girls team were very keen to see if their success in under-10s last year would translate to the big time.
Despite being a young side, the team held their own in their division in the Yarra Junior Football League, winning almost all their games and putting on regular dominant displays. They finished the season top of the ladder, won their first final and were into the grand final! Everything was going to plan.
Their opponents were the older Kew Rovers, who were the only team to beat the Dragons in the regular season. Facing bigger opponents, the game plan was simple: get the ball into space and run.
Despite kicking into a fearsome wind in the last quarter, the Dragons held on to prevail 1.7 (13) to 0.3 (3) to bring home to Gillon Oval the inaugural premiership for the all-girls program. It was a fantastic result for the team, which featured a number of girls playing their first season of football.
Our supporters were excited but did not have too long to get swept up in celebrating, as our under-13 girls took to the field immediately after to see if they could replicate the success against a competitive Richmond side.
Bringing a talented and hardworking team into 2024, the under-13s finished minor premiers with only one loss for the season.
But despite great play and hard work, the Dragons were trailing Richmond by four points heading into the last quarter of the grand final.
But kicking with the wind, the Dragons booted three goals to emerge victorious 4.6 (30) to 2.4 (16).
To add to the joy, the under-10 mixed team also won the premiership.
All of the girls have worked hard on both fitness and skills, training solidly through the off-season and the effort has paid off. Young girls wanting to play Australian Rules can join the Brunswick Dragons when registrations open on the club website later this year.
Erin Maclatchy is the Girls Program Manager at Brunswick Dragons Junior Football Club.
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