FRESH off a Division 1 premiership, the Southport Sharks will now test themselves in the top flight of the Queensland Australian Football League Women’s (QAFLW). Senior coach Ryan Davis said the group was “really excited” about what they could do.

“Yeah absolutely, they were really excited to do that the first year,” he said. “We probably weren’t ready as a football club to take that next step, but they were able to show their wares again in Division 1. “But they’re as a ready as they can be coming up into the QAFL season this year and it’s shown in their preseason and their commitment to training.”

Like any QAFLW club, Southport has dealt with its fair share of challenges over the off-season, from the weather to COVID-19 concerns, but Davis is proud of how everyone was able to overcome those challenges to be in a “pretty good space” ahead of Round 1.

“We did have a fair few interruptions with the weather or all the rest of it. We were able to train inside with our facilities that we’ve got here,” Davis said. “But we were able to play Aspley a fortnight ago, and then Bond University just on the weekend gone, so we were able to get some good opposition in before launching into the season proper which was good for us because we weren’t able to have too many intraclubs, so to get some real opposition, some quality opposition was good for us, to know where we’re at.”

Southport has also brought in the most talented top-age Queenslander in the state, with Mackay talent Alana Gee joining fellow AFLW Academy member and Gold Coast Suns Academy teammate Fleur Davies. The pair is among three other Queensland Under 18s representatives – Caitlin Miller, Kaylee Kimber and Darcie Davies – who will run out for the Sharks in the 2022 season.

“They’re a great asset to the club and it’s probably the most important for us that it does show a clear pathway from junior footy all the way up into the Suns 18s and making the Academy and then hopefully up into the AFLW,” Davis said. “So for a lot of juniors playing at Southport or thinking about coming to Southport it’s a clear pathway for them, but having players of that calibre come into the side and be available for selection I think for the first three rounds I think we’ve got five selected in the State 18s side this year so it’s a great pat on the back for the footy back.”

Though the young talent will undoubtedly shine for the QAFLW’s newest club, Davis said there were a number of more experienced players who he anticipated to step up this year.

“We’ve had a couple come across from Coolangatta,” he said. “I think Georgia Breward goes about her business quite quietly, but everything she does is exceptional, and working in and around the contest, her spreading, her skills. She’s a real lead-by-example type operator. “One from last year, Zali Cheffers she had a big off-season, and a really big preseason and put herself in really great shape to attack in the forward line. She’s given herself the best opportunities.”

“Ashley Flick, our newly appointed skipper, again her aerobic capacity has gone through the roof with the step up that we’re taking here. To be honest it would be unfair to name anymore girls because everyone has just been outstanding this entire few months leading into this season opener that our selection, I think we’ve built a pretty solid list, so our selection is very, very difficult on Wednesday night.”

Southport is renowned as a hard, contested type of club, and that is something that Davis said is “in its DNA”, and the way the women’s side wanted to play. Wanting to maintain a consistent effort and being a difficult side for four quarters, Davis is looking to play a “high pressure, high speed” game that allows the midfielders to win the territory battle and provide the forwards with plenty of opportunities. The Southport coach also said the physicality would be a key area, and he believed that with the work that had been put in over the preseason, that the player could sustain it for four quarters.

The 2022 list will comprise of “five or six good talls” as well as a deep midfield, and a well-sized backline to be able to matchup against any opposition. Davis said the forwards would look to apply immense pressure to “run opponents ragged”. As for his goals for the year, the Southport coach said he would take it “one week at a time” but he was focused on building a strong, sustainable program for the future.

“To build a strong program in both grades and deliver success on and off the field,” Davis said. “We expect internally I suppose to be challenging for finals at the end of the year, so that is where our pass mark will be. “But again stepping up into a new competition, there is going to be new challenges we haven’t faced before and new sides we haven’t faced before. “We’re well aware of that, and we know it’s not going to be easy, but we feel we’ve done enough work, got a good list together to be able challenge for that kind of stuff at the end of the year.”