Tara Murray
There was plenty of excitement as Thomastown fielded its first ever side last Saturday in the Northern Football League women’s competition.
Having tried to get a side up a couple of years ago before being hit by COVID, the Bears have put in a mountain of work in the off season to get a team up for this year.
In round one, the Bears ran out and faced the Fitzroy Stars in the division 3 competition.
While the Bears didn’t get the win, they were still winners according to coach David Hatzis.
He said having coached a lot of men’s and junior boys football, that women footballers just want to learn and it make it easy to teach them.
“It was amazing,” he said.
“We have 27 registered girls, which is incredible. We’ve had girls come from other clubs and we’ve initiated free registration with a sponsor covering that.
“We’ve got some girls that have never played before and we have seven or eight netballers jump on board that haven’t played before either.”
Hatzis said the majority of the group is aged between 17-23 which should be good for the future as the group can go together.
He said to have the number they have has exceeded expectations.
“Before Christmas it was a bit tough,” he said. “Since Chrissy the numbers have been really good.”
Hatzis said the first game against the Stars was really exciting with the men’s and under-19s boys team in attendance along with the committee and supporters.
“Fitzroy played in a preliminary final in division 2 last season,” he said. “It was a tough game and we didn’t get the chocolates, but I’m still really proud.”
Hatzis said they wouldn’t put any expectations on the group this season but said they were hoping to get a couple of wins along the way.
“This year we’re trying to set the foundations for what will happen the next five or six years,” he said.
“It’s baby steps now and hopefully that first win will come in the next few weeks. We’ll continue to take it week by week.”
The Bears face South Morang on Sunday in round two. The Lions have reformed their side this season, after not having one last season.
