By JULIA MONTESANO
MORE than 20 women have been training at Lebanon Reserve and are excited to play the sport that they love in a new-look EDFL Women’s competition.
Strathmore coach, Russell Humphrey says that skill improvement is on the agenda for the club.
“Obviously our skill-base is different and the girls haven't played like the men would right from day one or anything like that,” Humphrey said.
“At the end of the season, with the things that we're trying to implement at training, there's no setups or things like that, it's all skill-based.”
The Strathmore coach admits that some players have already improved their skills ahead of the season, outlining that there are many players to keep an eye on throughout the season.
“Sophie Cachia played with Point Cook last year,” he said.
“Her husband, Jarryd is a senior player at Strathmore.
“She was probably the driving force of getting a side up and running at Strathmore.”
Jess Perriman has also made the move across to Strathmore, after playing for Glenroy last year and polling well in its best-and-fairest count.
Humphrey says she decided to join the club because her uncle used to play for Strathmore.
Taylah Lambert is another player to watch, hailing from a basketball background.
Humphrey says she is struggling with injury, but is expecting her to play some games for the club during the season.
“She's injured at the moment, she hasn't been training at all,” he said.
“She's hurt her Achilles before Christmas so she's just starting to come back now.”
Humphrey is also excited to see how Ellie Young’s season will play out in Strathmore colours.
“She's a young player and at the moment, she's going well,” he said.
The players are enjoying training, and the coach believes it is because they are not being compared to the boys.
“There's always people watching and comparing the boys to the girls,” Humphrey said.
“To be honest, the improvement that we've got from the start to now has been outstanding.”
Strathmore is set to take on Keilor in a Good Friday EDFL Women’s season opener, following the men’s senior match, which will undoubtedly be a compelling contest.
If you are interested in playing for Strathmore, please call secretary, Michael Horne on 0433 470 327.
