Williamstown CYMS is a team in a hurry in the Victorian Amateur Football Association women’s section.
The CYs opened their inaugural season with three consecutive wins in division 3 – so impressive that league headquarters phoned last week to offer promotion to division 2 as part of a re-shuffle of clubs to create more balanced and competitive divisions.
The hot start, coupled with the elevation to the second tier, was a welcome shock for CYs co-president Steph Payne.
“It’s definitely caught us by surprise, the amount of success we’ve had to date,” she said.
“It almost feels like we’ve been playing together for a lot longer than just the start of this season.”
The CYs players are looking forward to the challenge of playing division 2 football for the remainder of the season.
The CYs were on track to challenge for the division 3 flag in their first year, having been the only undefeated side after three rounds and with a sky high percentage of 350 so the temptation was there to bide their time in the third tier and go for glory.
Payne canvassed the opinions of some players and members and it was decided to go for the greater challenge of competing in division 2.
“We’ve got the talent there and I think the team that we’ve got will do just as well in division 2,” she said. “The girls are really excited to see how they will go.”
Laurence Henry has already had a big influence on the women’s program.
The coach has been hard at work trying to fast-track an inexperienced team with some players involved in football for the first time.
“Laurence will give a set of instructions, whether it’s a quarter-time speech or just during training, and almost immediately the girls will adopt an action that he’s instructed,” Payne said.
“The absorption level of all the girls wanting to learn and understand the game is huge. If you look at where we started in November … we’ve come a long way, so we’re very happy with how it’s all progressing.”
One player making her way in the game for the first time is full-forward Georgina Petty.
Petty had never played football when she signed up late in the pre-season, but has been a revelation with seven goals in two games.
“She’s never played football before, but just has an incredible natural ability,” Payne said. “We’re quite excited to see where she ends up.”
The main star for Williamstown CYMS so far has been Hannah Elliott, one of the most tenacious operators in the CYs midfield who dominates the stoppages.
“She’s got incredible talent,” Payne said. “She reads the play extremely well.”
Others to impress are Scarlett Kennedy, Felicia Yiannis and Kacie Cook.
Payne knows there will be challenges coming the way of CYs, particularly in a tougher division 2 competition, but the journey into the unknown is a thrill.
“We’re really excited to see where we’ll be at the end of this year,” she said.
