For years, football fans have been accustomed to seeing Nagambie dominate on the field.
Claiming five senior premierships since 2010, the Lakers have been a model of consistency in the Kyabram District League, with a host of star players donning the famous red, black and white.
Now the time has come to add another exciting chapter to Nagambie’s rich football history, with the club preparing to enter its first ever women’s team in the Northern Country Women’s League in season 2023.
The team was the brainchild of long-time volunteer and supporter Rylee Alderton who, after travelling to play football, wanted to find an opportunity closer to home.
“Before COVID-19 I was doing a pre-season with Shepparton Bears and then the season wasn’t able to go ahead unfortunately, and then the following season I fell pregnant, so it just became really difficult to travel to Shepparton for trainings and games,” Alderton said.
“A lot of the girls were in a similar boat, being from Seymour and Nagambie and having to travel to Shepparton and Bendigo even just to train, so I thought I would love to give the local girls an easier opportunity to play footy.”
Being heavily involved with the Nagambie Football Netball Club, Alderton quickly got the tick of approval to pursue a women’s football team and went about the tough task of recruiting players.
Unsure of what to expect when she put the feelers out on social media last week, Alderton was blown away by what happened next.
“Within four hours of putting the social media post up we had 20 girls say they were 100 per cent in, and then within 24 hours I had 33 girls committed to playing with us next season,” she said.
“It was amazing to see (the response). At the start I was a bit nervous we wouldn’t get enough, so to get so many players it is pretty overwhelming.
“Keeping the club evolving is the biggest thing for Nagambie. We need that younger generation to step up and get involved, and even through this we have had 17 new girls come to the football netball club, so it is bringing people to the club which is super important.”
With a healthy list of players at her disposal, the hard work does not stop for Alderton, as the club now embarks on pre-season training and the search for coaching staff.
“I have worked out for us to have fortnightly catch-ups. We have seven girls that have never played football before, so it is important we get used to each other heading into next season,” she said.
“In terms of a coach, I am just head-hunting a few people I would love to come and be involved. At the moment there are probably five people I am really keen to lean on when it comes to helping us next season.
“We are keen to work really closely with the men’s team as well and the entire committee is right behind us.”
As excitement builds ahead of the NCWL debut in 2023, Alderton said she hoped the team would bring a new demographic to the Nagambie Football Netball Club.
“At the end of the day, I want to create a space for people from our local community to come and play footy,” she said.
“It will be exciting to see how the girls go in the first season, and then after that hopefully we can continue to build and create a pathway for local girls to get involved in the game.”