By JARROD POTTER
PARKMORE Pirates footballer Charis Ulu Peniata was duly rewarded for a stellar Youth Girls Academy campaign as the Sandringham midfielder secured her debut spot in the Victoria Metro Youth Girls side.
Ulu Peniata won’t have to travel far for the upcoming championships, which are held in Melbourne early in May.
While she’s still fairly new to the game, Vic Metro coach Wayne Siekman said she has more than impressed the selectors and earned her place in the Big V.
“She’s very much an exciting player for us and the coaches,” Siekman said.
“We didn’t know a lot about her, but her performances on the field for Sandringham made us quickly watch everything she did.
“The way she played down back – she never got beaten – and her follow up work to try and get the footy was remarkable.”
Siekman thinks Ulu Peniata has what it takes to make a great impact at the championships, even with her football development still in the works.
“Especially for someone who has a lot of talent but is still raw,” Siekman said.
“She’s a fierce competitor and hates to lose contests and will be crucial in our back half.”
From the Dandenong Stingrays Youth Girls Academy, captain Georgia Walker (Vic Country), Lyndhurst’s Emily Browning and Cranbourne trio Courtney Jones, Georgia Gourlay and Kayla Ripari among others who will get to run out in front of a home crowd this year.
“That’s one of the big reasons I wanted to go again for one more year – the opportunity to coach these girls in front of their families in our home state and showcase the Metro academy,” Siekman said.
“It’s one of the most important and key things this year to be able to do that with this playing group.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity to coach them and help them through these situations.”
The selected Stingrays players all featured in the Youth Girls Academy Challenge grand final, with the Dandenong contingent holding aloft the inaugural premiership.
“Following on from last year, where we had a lot of success from the running side in Perth, we’ve built a very good foundation to continue the same trend this year,” Vic Metro coach Wayne Siekman said.
“But saying that we’ve got a really good injection of a lot of tall, athletics players as well.”
LOCAL YOUTH GIRLS STATE REPRESENTATIVES
VIC METRO: Dandenong – Jordyn Allen, Emily Browning (Lyndhurst), Georgia Gee, Tyla Hanks, Brooke Struylaart (Beaconsfield), Courtney Jones, Kayla Ripari, Georgia Gourlay (Cranbourne), Jasmine Grierson, Jess Provan, Jess Smith. Sandringham – Charis Ulu Peniata (Parkmore).
VIC COUNTRY: Georgia Walker, Suede Croad, Bridie Kennedy, Emily Rylance, Sam Ryan, Zoe Mitchell, Parris Stahl (emergency).
