Queensland women to go with gut

Queensland coach, Jeff White, wants his team to go with their guts, against Tasmania on Saturday.

In the first standalone women’s representative match outside of a national championships, white said he had kept things pretty simple.

“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, we don’t want to change too much,” he said.

“Hopefully they can get out there, focus on their roles and just instinctively play.”

The Queensland side is stacked with talent, including seven players who played in last year’s AFL Women’s match or have been drafted this season, but White said it was the mix of youth and experience which would be key for them.

“We’ve got some really exciting talent,” he said.

“Their running ability and the skills of these girls are really, really good.”

White said the team had impressed in training sessions, since the selection process began a month ago with 52 girls in the mix.

“They’ve never shirked it and they’re all really looking forward to it,” he said.

“We’ve had a real focus on team ethos, knowing your roles and working for each other.

“They’ve been jumping out of their skin since day one.”

The match will see a number of girls pull on the ‘Q” for the second time this year, with 2014 Youth Girls All-Australians, Beth Pinchin (Broadbeach), Shannon Campbell (Wilston Grange) and Tayla Harris (Zillmere) picked in the team.

Maddy Roberts will represent the state for the first time, capping a meteoric rise in the game, which she only started playing this year.

Queensland will be captained by Coorparoo’s Emma Zielke, with Yeronga’s Nat Thomas as vice-captain.

The match will be a curtain-raiser to the NEAFL v TSL match, in the first men’s and women’s representative double header.

Queensland takes on Tasmania at 11am on Saturday, at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena.

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