The pioneers of the state women’s game are putting in plans to take full control of Launceston and continue to be the TSLW benchmark.
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The reigning premiers are yet to be challenged in their three easy wins this season.
Blues star Courtney Webb’s latest inclusion on Saturday off her maiden AFLW season with Carlton and returning off an Australian under-19 cricket tournament in South Africa will just strengthen the Blues further for their clash against Clarence at Oatlands.
But the decision of coach Alex Gibbins to hand the reins over to playing assistant Angela Dickson for a second week in a row after just two games this year is a reflection of the side’s coaching future.
“With the way Alex coaches, by the end of last season I think we didn’t need much coaching at all,” Dickson said.
“The girls took a lot of ownership of how we were going to play, how we wanted to play games and our conduct ourselves on and off the field.
“We’d pretty much knew everything: we knew the structures, we knew the rotations. Alex was pretty much there to yell at us when we needed it and that was it.
“I’m hoping that will happen again this year because we have got a lot of new players. We’d hope by the end of the year that’s where we are at again – a team that is driven and knows what to do.”
The club has not finalised a change, but Gibbins envisages a long-term female coach.
Deb Reynolds this year had been appointed assistant to Sam Lonergan’s TSL side.
Dickson said the women are all driven to take charge.
“That’s what we have done a bit with the way we have structured our leadership group this year,” she said.
“We don’t have a captain as such; we have got seven in our leadership group and we take turns each week.
“We have players taking on captaincy rather than stand around taking directions.”