WA Football Commission

WA v Victoria Women’s State GameThursday, June 4, 2015 - 12:01 PM

WESTERN Australia will host Victoria in a women’s football showcase at Domain Stadium at 3pm on Friday afternoon as the curtain raiser to the Fremantle v Richmond AFL game.

The fixture will follow the success of the AFL Women’s Exhibition Game at the MCG on May 24 and feature 30 star players from both of the teams that represented Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

For WA this will include captain Kara Donnellan, who was best-on-ground for Melbourne in their thrilling 8-point win, collecting a match-high 23 touches (16 kicks, seven handballs), seven inside 50s and four tackles.

WA’s Emma Swanson was also influential in attack for the Demons and fellow West Australian Emma King, who was taken with pick No.1 by the Bulldogs in last month's AFL Women’s Draft, got the better of her opponent in the ruck.

The WA team will also be coached by winning Melbourne women’s coach and current South Fremantle WAFL assistant Michelle Cowan.

For Victoria, Demons captain Daisy Pearce, the No.1 draft selection in 2013, will also be one to watch with her run across half-back.

West Australian Football Commission Female High Performance Manager Alison Moore said the State Game would be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the female talent pathway on the way to establishing a national women’s league.

“This is the showpiece of female state games in 2015 and I’m looking forward to the powerhouses of female football clashing in what should be a great contest.

“It is also an opportunity to promote the WA Women’s Football League and the WAFC in front of a wider audience. I hope everyone enjoys the experience and soaks up the opportunity to both play and watch the game at Domain Stadium,” she said.

Female football participants have tripled in Australia over the last five years and now represent 19% of all participants – a total of 195,000. There were 100 new female teams in 2014 and another 150 teams have already been established in 2015.