Longford senior women's team is a great example of building something special from the ground up.
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The Tigers' opening NTFA division one game of the season showcased how much progress has been made since they started about a year ago.
George Town were 42-point winners but as Longford co-captain Jade Nichols explained the scoreline didn't tell the whole story.
"When we played George Town last year we had 14 players and this year we had a whole team on the ground, plus five on the bench," she said.
"So it made a big difference and the best bit is all the girls get along, we're a very tight bunch."
It was also a big turnaround after George Town defeated Longford by 109 points last year.
The Tigers, who take on South Launceston at Longford Recreation Ground on Saturday, will be aiming for another spirited performance.
Co-skipper Alanah Boyack further highlighted the difference more player numbers had made at Tigerland.
"Last year, we were struggling. We had four at training, if that. This year, we can actually run proper drills and practice our goal-kicking and tackling," she said.
New faces at training has also led to valuable mini-games.
Rachel Watson, who plays in the backline, also highlighted the group no longer had to worry about the prospect of forfeiting matches.
Coach Michael Boyack, in the lead up to the season, noted the team had grown its list from 16-18 players to 28 this year.
So where did all the fresh faces come from?
Nichols said spreading the word on social media had helped.
"We made a (women's) Facebook page and advertised on there so more people could see," she said.
"We're constantly sharing the posts. So people got around it a bit more and one night we rocked up at training and there were seven new people and they were keen to play."
Alanah said word-of-mouth had also proved crucial.
"It helped with the club getting the word out as well. We had (assistant coach) Stephen Dodd, he got around everywhere and went along every shop in Longford as well," she said.
Dodd said the team had gained recruits from far and wide.
"They rock up from everywhere, we've got some from Mole Creek and over at Meander," he said.
"A couple have come from Evandale and then a couple from Campbell Town.
"And five or six have come from the Launceston area and they're so fantastic together.
"That's the thing, they get on really well and have made our job a little bit easier."
He added the future was looking bright.
"We've also got a good under-17 group coming through for next year so the club's looking good for women's football," he said.
Dodd explained the Tigers' 2021 outfit battled bravely.
"Last year, was a really hard year for those 14-16 players because we didn't have a bench a lot of the time," he said.
"They never gave up, they played the whole season and finished the season as good as they started.
"Now we've got 28 players. There are a lot of times players can't get to the game or one of their children is sick or they're sick themselves and COVID doesn't make it any better.
"Now we've got numbers we should improve immensely this year."
Wing Vanessa Yates got plenty out of last year.
"I really enjoyed myself and had a lot of support from the other players who've been playing for a lot longer than I have which kept me interested to return this year," she said.
Yates highlighted the team's great culture.
"I come from Legana, I've had options to play at Bridgenorth or Launceston and people have asked me but I choose to keep coming back here because they're great," she said.
"They support me, they stick by me, they've always got my back and it's like a family."
Nichols noted how women's footy was growing.
"The first year we played barely anyone knew about girls footy," she said.
"But now I feel like it's becoming quite big with more people joining. There's more clubs around. There's different leagues and divisions."
In other division one matches, Meander Valley takes on George Town at Westbury Recreation Ground on Saturday.
It will be the Suns' first hit-out of the season after having a bye last weekend.
Evandale is also in for their first match of the year with a clash against Deloraine at Morven Park on Saturday.
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