Sport
1 February, 2024
Lady Redbacks set to launch
The Carisbrook Lady Redbacks will be launching their 2024 season on Wednesday night, with the club looking to capitalise on a successful first season back in senior women’s football. AFLW stars, Collingwood’s Lauren Butler and Essendon’s Paige...
The Carisbrook Lady Redbacks will be launching their 2024 season on Wednesday night, with the club looking to capitalise on a successful first season back in senior women’s football.
AFLW stars, Collingwood’s Lauren Butler and Essendon’s Paige Scott, are confirmed to attend, plus additional guests, as they help the club launch into a new season of football.
Carisbrook won their first game in the senior women’s competition in round 12 against Bacchus Marsh, winning by 14 points, and played off in finals, giving third-placed Lake Wendouree an honest challenge before eventually going down by 44 points.
But according to returning coach Steve Atkinson, he believes something special is brewing, with a large group continuing to train over the off-season.
“There was a really special thing that happened over 2023 going into 2024 when the season ended, that a group of girls just continued to train by themselves,” he said.
“They kept going every Wednesday night. It continued as a social and developmental thing to keep up their skillset and their true passion for football was discovered.”
The club will be coached by Atkinson and Matthew Johns again for the 2024 season, while club captain Caitlin Butler has stepped up to become an assistant coach.
Butler was also recently awarded club person of the year at Carisbrook, something that Atkinson says reflects her values in helping getting the senior women’s team back up and running.
“Caitlin Butler was awarded club person of the year at Carisbrook for her dedication and work to women’s football, and not just that, the club in general,” he said.
As a result, Atkinson believes the culture of the club is starting to win over prospective recruits.
“We are recruiting hard and there are a couple of girls who are looking over and coming to the club because of the culture we have created last year. We’ve now got interest from prospective players, which is why we are launching in a big way next week,” he said.
“We went from losing by 20 goals to really good sides that were together for years, to reducing them down to five goals. That’s a credit to the dedication to the ladies who gave their time and commitment to become passionate to win games of footy.”
The season launch on Wednesday, held at Carisbrook, is open to all current and prospective players for the 2024 season, with a barbecue after the session.
Atkinson urged women of all ages and all abilities to come and try playing footy for Carisbrook.
“This is a thing where everyone is welcome from any league. We are the only women’s football club in this area and any woman wanting to try it, that might have thought about going to other clubs such as Bendigo or Ballarat, are invited to come and have a look,” he said.
“We have girls who are going through the promotional pathways of senior football and greater. We’ve had a strong junior presence and we have girls who are developing out of that and going into the open women’s team, which is fantastic.”
Wednesday night’s season launch will begin at 6 pm at Carisbrook Recreation Reserve.