Jade Wardle, Meg Whiticker (VC), Matt Bedford (Coach), Lucy Turney (C) and Milah Cannon ahead of AFL Queensland School's Cup final four competition.
Jade Wardle, Meg Whiticker (VC), Matt Bedford (Coach), Lucy Turney (C) and Milah Cannon ahead of AFL Queensland School's Cup final four competition. Contributed

Tweed school fires into state footy top four

A TWEED girls' football side has the chance of securing an all-schools state title after only coming together in March.

The Australian Rules Football side, made up of Grade 10-12 girls from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, left other schools in their wake to power their way into AFL Queensland's (AFLQ) Schools Cup final four, which culminates on the Sunshine Coast this weekend.

The squad of 22 punched above its weight to make the finals after taking out schools with sporting excellence sides.

They will take on Far North Queensland champions, The Cathedral College from Rockhampton, tomorrow at 4pm (Qld) for their shot at the grand final on Sunday.

Coach Matt Bedford said while Lindisfarne entered the competition for fun, they had earned their right to stand alongside the best in Queensland after building belief through a dominant run.

"We played three sides in Byron and conceded only two or three points for the day and kicked over 100,” Bedford said.

"The girls were good then and we certainly realised we were onto something. We just went in to have a bit of fun and it's taken us this far.”

To become Northern Rivers' champions, the side downed Southern Brisbane champions Christian College, before taking out Queensland's number one-ranked girls football school of excellence side Narangba State High to book their spot in the finals.

Bedford said the side played with flair and worked hard to fine-tune their game heading into the finals.

"We've been training three days a week and they've pushed it and responded by increasing their effort which is great,” he said.

"They attack the football and play a pretty intense brand of football and tackle very hard. Our spine is pretty well set from full back to full forward which is one of our strengths.”

If the girls defeat The Cathedral College, they'll move into the final on Sunday against either Kedron or Mountain Creek State High schools, or a third-place play-off.

Bedford said regardless of the outcome, the girls had fully embraced the native code in a significant year for football, with the implementation of a professional women's league commencing in 2017.

Bedford said the female footballers now saw a real pathway in the sport which played a big role in bringing the side together.

"The opportunity for girls to play has sparked interest,” he said.

"It's becoming more on their radar and with the new league starting, they have the potential to get drafted.”

Bedford said the school and principal Stuart Marquardt had been supportive to assist the girls to work around exam schedules and school commitments.

  • Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School Senior Girls Squad for AFL Queensland Schools Cup finals.
  • 1. Meg Whiticker, 2. Lucy Turney, 3. Ella Bordiss, 4. Lucy McFie, 5. Jesse Reid, 6. Mylee O'Kane, 7. Alexandra Robinson, 9. Mia Nixon, 10. Eirene Donnelly, 11. Jade Wardle, 12. Lily Dick, 13. Piper Harrison, 14. Gabby Bryant, 15. Tia Ambrose, 16. Jaime Coetzee, 17. Chelsea Turney, 21. Paige Kendall, 22. Georgia Maynard, 23. Shania Myers, 24. Milah Cannon, 29. Anneka Young , 38. Michaela Bryant.


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