THE Dubbo Demons' efforts to promote the code of Australian Rules in the city are continuing, with the club set to take part in a new womens competition being conducted in the central west.
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Dubbo will joined Orange, Bathurst and Cowra in fielding teams in the competition, which is a new initiative by the AFL Central West board in line with the growth in the demand for Women's AFL across NSW and Australia.
The new competition is a nine-week home-and-away format including a finals series, where matches will be played as full contact and as per the rules of regular Australian Rules Football, with reduced team player numbers.
The competition is available to female players 15 years of age and above, with games being played over two 20-minute halves.
Lauren Hazell, a former star junior who has been playing with the Penrith Ramettes in the Sydney womens competition in recent years, will lead the side and Demons president Mick Haley is confident the concept will help the club to grow.
"In the southern areas it has been a long tradition that netball has been tied in with Aussie Rules and they have gone hand-in-hand but that doesn't apply up here," he said.
"As a result it was decided to introduce a womens game as there's numerous female juniors who come through the Auskick programs but have no pathway after that.
"Lauren learnt her skills from her dad, Dave Hazell, and started with the Auskick program, then on through the Demons in the under-14s and 17s.
"With this new competition we're giving girls the chance to go through the junior programs and into seniors, where they can then go on to state and national level.
"We think it is a good opportunity for women who might play ultimate frisbee, soccer or touch football to have a go at a different sport and hopefully it will bring a new dimension to our club and the other three that will be taking part this year.
"It might also help bring in the partners of our senior male players or anyone else who might be interested in playing and just want to have a go."
Womens matches will be played in between the men's first grade and reserve grade games on each respective Saturday afternoon, with Dubbo's first home game on Saturday, June 13 against Orange.
The women's team will train on Tuesday nights from 6.30pm at South Dubbo Oval, and anybody who may be interested can attend to have a try. Alternatively they can contact Michael Haley on 0429 033 121, email womens@dubbodemons.com, visit the website www.dubbodemons.com or search for the club on Facebook.
