“IT will be a good goal to push to play in the League team. That’s my aim at the moment, get a few games in there, it will be really exciting.”

Glenelg Women’s teenager Ella Boag has her sights set on the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Women’s competition. Returning for her second preseason training with the Bays, Boag was also named in the South Australian Under 18s State Academy. Now coming from the Under 16s, Boag is prepared to step up to the senior side in 2022.

“It’s really exciting. I think I’ll probably play with the Development side a bit more, but it will be a good goal to push to play in the League team,” Boag said of her opportunity.

The midfielder has put in the hard yards behind the scenes for the opportunity. Having played football for a few years now, Boag knows it is going to be tough to crack into the reigning premiers’ side, but she harbours those ambitions.

“I started playing footy in 2017 for just local Henley Sharks club with some of my local school friends just to keep in touch with them going into high school, and then started to really enjoy it,” Boag said. “Then I think the club selected me for juniors at Glenelg, I don’t know what age group it was, it was just really simple back then.

“Then did that every year until last year and came out for the senior program. Got asked to tryout, I just trained for the off-season time, didn’t get into the actual team but played as an over-ager in the Under 16s. “Came out again this year and got invited to train with them and have been training with them all preseason.”

Boag has some natural athletic abilities that separate her from many of her peers. It is how she has been able to maintain a spot onball through the juniors, but is expecting to roll out to a different position if given the League opportunity.

“I enjoy midfield, I think the position I would more get would still be midfield, but on the wing,” Boag said. “Just running, because that’s probably my strength, running, sprinting.

“I’ve got reasonable endurance as well. Just throughout the fitness around the field, and sprinting and when I know the team and the game, my movement is quite good. “But obviously it takes a while when you’re with a new team to see how everyone else plays.”

As for the new year, Boag said she hopes to build her confidence on and off the field, which will help her achieve her goal.

“I think at the moment what I need to improve on is my confidence coming into an older team with new people,” she said. “My voice getting around it, and just getting stronger as well, probably that tackling and again that confidence with sticking tackles.”

As for what she hopes to have achieved in 12 months time, it was clear what she had set her sights on for 2022.

“I reckon I would have hoped to have played a few League games,” Boag said. “Probably just worked on my structure around the field, getting just like everyone else, creating that space but doing my part to make that happen, but probably getting a few League games would be the aim.”