Outgoing Tarneit Football Club president Matt Drake-Brockman is proud of the rapid development of his club’s women’s section this year.
The Titans had 71 registered female players this year in under 15s and seniors – the highest women’s participation of any football club in Wyndham.
Drake-Brockman leaves the presidency with the club in a sound position, but he forecasts the most significant growth will occur in the thriving women’s section.
“We are ranked No.1 for registered females in Wyndham and we’re No.5 in the WRFL from memory,” he said.
“We’d hope to be the club that the City of Wyndham sees as having that pathway right through from juniors to seniors in women’s football.
“We’re hoping to have the 12s, 15s and seniors next year and then hope to add the 18s the year after. It’s all over the shop in our area at the moment – we’ve got 15s and seniors, Wyndhamvale have got 18s, Werribee Centrals have got 15s, Point Cook have got 12s, so hopefully in a two-year period we can get the whole chain working.”
The enthusiasm for women’s football at Tarneit could be seen on Sundays when the senior team performed in its inaugural season in the Western Region and Essendon District Women’s Football League.
The Titans replicated the men’s team first-year results – winning just one game – but that did not stop the crowds from turning out in good numbers to support the team.
“The numbers at our senior girls on Sunday afternoons were really good,” Drake-Brockman said.
“The support through our club for the 15s girls was also fantastic.
“Our first year, when we started up with our senior men’s section, our seniors won one game and our reserves won one game, so the results are pretty similar to what we were seeing with our women’s team.
“Hopefully, we can have the same improvement that we’ve seen with our senior men over the last few years.”
July 16 will go down as a special day in Tarneit’s history.
After 10 consecutive losses, the Titans finally broke through for a senior women’s victory in a thriller by three points over Glen Orden.
In a low-scoring game, Madeline Johnson’s two goals proved the difference as the Titans’ women sang the club song for the first time.
“We were proud as punch with them,” Drake-Brockman said.
“For most of the players, it was either their first season of footy or they hadn’t played for a long time.”
Tarneit is set to embark on its biggest off season, hoping to double its female participation, bring in more sponsors and prepare a senior men’s team for a shot at a division 3 flag.
