Girls Football at NJFC
Girls football continues to grow in popularity and all girls are encouraged to join Auskick and junior football, through to open age football and the AFLW.
Auskick starts for all participants who are turning 5 in the year of participation through to 12 years of age.
Junior Football is available to all participants who are 7 (turning 8 in the year of participation) through to 17 years of age, within age groups of Under 8 through to ‘Youth’ (17 years).
Girls are welcome to join ‘Mixed’ gender teams and to play in ‘Girls Only’ teams, depending on availability of a team suitable for their age.
In the Under 10 age groups no scores are recorded, in accordance with the AFL Junior Match Policy and girls can elect to play in mixed teams up to Under 14, after which (Under 15 up), girls and boys play in separate teams.
From Under 11 level, teams have the opportunity to play for premiership points and may get the chance to play finals football. The focus in the early years in particular remains on player development and giving players the opportunity to play in a variety of on-field positions. From Under-14s on, coaches may place more emphasis on the personal and team qualities needed to win games, in accordance with club policies regarding player participation in all games and child safety.
Pathways for talented players
Girls from eligible schools can nominate to trial for the School Sport Victoria (SSV) team to play in the Australian Championships each year at Under 12 (mixed) and Under 15 (girls) level, based on their age at 31 December of the previous year. This is a very competitive and self-funded program. Further information can be found at https://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/team-vic/Pages/australian-football.aspx
Girls U13-U15 can play in the YJFL Yarra Magpies representative football teams.
For U16s – U18s, NJFC falls within the Carlton and Northern Knights catchment areas. The pathways for girls football are still evolving as the popularity of girls’ footy increases, but talented female footballers from our area can aim to be ultimately part of the Carlton AFLW program. The Carlton Next Generation Academy has additional programs to support talented girls with multicultural and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, generally starting from Under 13 age groups.
Girls’ Rules
Please see the Yarra Junior Football League’s Girls Rules at https://www.yarrajfl.org.au/girls-football-rules/ for a summary of rules specific to Girls’ Footy.