Launceston's Tunisha Kikoak to play for All-Stars at Marvel Stadium

The Old Scotch and Tasmania Devils footballer will line-up for the under-23 All-Stars against the AFL Academy Girls' team on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.

The match, which starts at 1.45pm, will be a curtain-raiser to the round 14 AFL match between North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs.

The All-Stars side features players from Victoria, Northern Territory and Tasmania who are playing in the Talent League or VFLW with the squad selected from nominations supplied by AFLW clubs.

The academy team features a selection of talented draft-age footballers.

Kikoak, a utility whose preference is ruck, is the sole representative from the north of the state in either team.

Ulverstone's Candice Belbin is the other Tasmanian in the All-Stars squad.

Readers may have heard of Kikoak's achievements on the field in recent years but may not know of her interest in other sports and how they've influenced her footy.

The 18-year-old, who has played netball and softball for years, said they had helped her football.

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The North Launceston junior product has combined the three sports across her six years of footy.

She played juniors with Amazonz before 19-and-under state league netball with Northern Hawks last year.

The shooter played the sport for about seven years before this year having a break to focus on footy.

Softball is her summer sport and she said she had played for five years at state league level.

Eagles Softball Club at Churchill Park is her home and she has progressed from juniors to seniors to championships as well as being a level one umpire.

Kikoak elaborated on the similarities and differences between the three sports.

"Netball and football intertwine so well," she said.

"It's almost like football and basketball with the athleticism, the short sprints and the use of the ball and the ability to catch and mark a ball - that's very important with both sports."

She said softball was about knowing what's next which helped with reading the play on the footy field.

"In softball you need to know, if there's a runner on (base) one or two. You need to assess the play and I think that just works with football and finding the free man or assessing the next move."

She spoke about what she loved about footy.

"It's that you can go from attack to defence in a matter of seconds," she said.

"You can use speed, you can use power or you can just run with the football.

"Or you can kick it, it's a great environment and an incredible sport to play."

Kikoak finished year 12 at Newstead College last year and is working casually at AFL Tasmania as a female ambassador.

Part of her role is helping promote the women's game at grassroots level including at Auskick and under-11s.

She said it was rewarding to help inspire girls and a great opportunity to see the business side of the sport.

Last year, Kikoak was the only player from the North and North-West of the state to be selected in the inaugural AFLW Futures squad to play at exhibition match at Geelong's GHMBA Stadium.

She also played for the Allies at the under-18 national championships last year.

Glenorchy's Brooke Barwick and Georgia Clark are the Tasmanians in the AFL Academy Girls' squad for Sunday.

The match will be available to watch live and free on the AFL website.

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