A huge source of pride for the Gridiron Victoria community in recent times has been the continuing growth and popularity of the full-kit, full-contact women’s competition. With the original incarnation starting out as just one team playing curtain-raiser scrimmages during the 2012 Men’s season, the women’s game has now expanded to a full-blown 6-team league in 2014, with a further 2 potential teams to be added for the upcoming 2015 season. This type of accelerated, yet sustainable expansion is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all involved.
This Friday night, a reward for such hard work will come in the form of the first ever GV Women’s All-Star Game, taking place as a part of the league’s showcase Queen’s Birthday Round. The State Netball and Hockey Centre in Parkville will be the stage for the top 50 women gridiron players in Victoria to put on a display illustrating just how far the women’s game in Victoria has come in the past 3 years.
In a format similar to the recent “drafts” of the NFL Pro-Bowl, current Northern Lady Raiders Head Coach Matthew Jenkins and current average-at-best Croydon Rangers QB Jamie Stafford, took turns putting together their respective teams (“Fire” and “Ice”) for what will be a unique event and hopefully a contest that will enhance the game’s reputation in Australia.
As well as the game itself, there will be a presentation featuring the MVP and other league award winners from the 2014 women’s season, in addition to the announcement of the 2014 (and inaugural) women’s All-Victorian team.
Good luck to all of the girls competing on Friday night. And for everyone in the GV community, make sure to share this with your friends and family. Let’s all do our best to make the State Netball and Hockey Centre as full as possible for the entire weekend (Round 6 of the Men’s Senior season will take place at the same venue over the Saturday and Sunday), so that this great sport continues to grow Down Under.
A detailed match report for this game will be posted here next week, so stay tuned!
