Sport
12 February, 2024
Big launch for Brook women
Carisbrook succesfully launched their women’s football campaign for 2024 on Wednesday night, with a strong contingent of 55 girls attending. The club were treated to drills which improved their skills under the tutelage of Collingwood’s AFLW duo...
Carisbrook succesfully launched their women’s football campaign for 2024 on Wednesday night, with a strong contingent of 55 girls attending.
The club were treated to drills which improved their skills under the tutelage of Collingwood’s AFLW duo Lauren Butler and Jordyn Allen, as well as Essendon’s Paige Scott.
The club are looking to build on their first season back in the Ballarat Football League Women’s competition last year, which yielded a win and a competitive final against Lake Wendouree, and co-coach Matthew Johns is excited for the challenge.
“We were getting good numbers towards the end of last year, and we’ve been following on from that, getting bigger and better, and it’s about improving our skills, fitness, enjoying it and being together,” he said.
Stepping up alongside Johns and fellow co-coach Steve Atkinson is Caitlin Butler, who’ll be taking on the role as an on-field assistant coach, and like others, Caitlin is excited about the prospect of the season ahead.
“It’s a good vibe around here and we have a good group of people that want to get involved in it. We’ve never probably looked this good with the numbers at this time of the year. The culture is so good and the people are just as good,” she said.
“There’s been a group who have continued to train casually throughout the summer, so we’re already looking better than this time last year in terms of skills.
“It’s exciting and I’m proud to be leading the club and the group of girls. I’m looking forward to be working alongside Steve and Matthew and helping throughout the season.”
Caitlin was grateful for Lauren’s assistance in coming back, and with Allen and Scott also previously playing for the club, they were always happy to help out the Lady Redbacks.
“It’s great that the girls have played with us previously and are always willing to come back and help out. We love having them around, too,” she said.
Lauren was all too happy to come back and help her childhood club.
“For our family, personally, it’s been a huge part of our lives since we were all kids,” she said.
“It’s special that it’s the home of women’s footy in the Maryborough region, and it was a great turnout which is awesome to see.
“You can see a lot of younger girls coming through and improving their skills. We’re really impressed with the level on display, it’s awesome.”
Lauren also added Caitlin’s ability to lead the group comes naturally, and will be a great fit alongside Atkinson and Johns.
“As the older sibling, she has always had a good bossy nature about her, but being a leader is something that comes naturally to her, I’m envious in some ways,” she said.
“She’s a massive carer for the club and has been for many years, not just on the field, but the work she does off the field and around the club as well. It’s awesome to see her get that recognition.”
All of Caitlin, Lauren and Johns are excited about the prospect of the Lady Redbacks in season 2024.
Johns takes a realistic approach, but is also excited to see the team stepping up.
“It’s enjoyable and it’s a great club. The girls have fun and enjoy it, and that’s the main thing that comes out of it. It’s not always about winning, as long as they’re having fun, the winning will come later,” he said.
“We’re taking it day-by-day at the moment. We’ll look at round one and what comes of it. We have a few new girls stepping up in different leadership roles on the field, so we’ll see what happens.”
Lauren and Caitlin both agree that they should be striving for more wins.
“I think the awesome thing about the club is it is based on fun, which is a great starting point for any time,” Lauren said.
“But now that you can see the girls have played together for a longer time, they are really gelling and not just enjoying their footy, but improving as well. A few wins this year would be an awesome goal for them.”
Caitlin is perhaps most excited about 2024.
“Last year was just a warmup season. We think this year will be better and we’ll be striving for a few more wins,” she said.
