By JARROD POTTER
MAKING the next cut in pursuit of a Victorian jersey are 29 players from the Dandenong Stingrays Youth Girls Academy (YGA).
Out of hundreds to try out for the Big V, the Stingrays crew were part of the final 130 hoping to gain selection for the national championships.
Dandenong’s All Australian schoolgirls pair Courtney Jones (Cranbourne) and Emily Browning (Lyndhurst) were snatched up quickly by Vic Metro scouts ahead of this year’s AFL National Youth Girls Championships – which will finally return home and be held in Melbourne from 2 to 5 May.
Familiar local faces in Beaconsfield quartet Georgia Gee, Tyla Hanks, Ruby Clayton and Brooke Struylaart are in the 65-woman Vic Metro squad alongside former Vic Metro pair Logan O’Connell-Webb (Lyndhurst) and Georgia Gourlay (Cranbourne).
As well as the 19 selected in the Vic Metro preliminary squad, another 10 have a chance to be coached at the state level by their YGA coach Scott Gowans, who was announced as Vic Country head coach earlier this week.
Screening days for both squads will be held in the lead up to the National Championships, with Vic Country to hold their event on Sunday 7 February at North Melbourne Football Club, and Vic Metro to be held at Richmond Football Club on 4 March.
STINGRAYS INITIAL STATE SQUAD
VIC METRO
Dalia Ali, Jordyn Allen, Emily Browning, Sam Bullas, Ruby Clayton, Beth Cruickshank, Georgia Gee, Georgia Gourlay, Jasmine Grierson, Tyla Hanks, Courtney Jones, Logan O’Connell-Webb, Tayla O’Hagan, Sophie Phillips, Jess Provan, Kayla Ripari, Teagan Sheldon, Jess Smith and Brooke Struylaart.
VIC COUNTRY
Suede Croad, Imani Francis, Bridie Kennedy, Zoe Mitchell, Tayla Prentice, Samanatha Ryan, Paris Stahl, Chloe Stephens, Georgia Walker and Ruby Wilson.
