YOUTH girls footballer Emma Lynch is set to become an Australian Rules ambassador in New Zealand.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Ballarat Swans’ crumbing forward has been named in the Australian Breeze youth girls’ team to take the game across the Tasman in October.
Lynch’s selection is based on her leadership, skill and dedication in the AFL national high performance academy program in January.
“I was pretty excited when the email came through. I could hardly talk for a few hours afterward,” Lynch said.
“The performance academy has 22 girls and only takes 12 to tour New Zealand for promotional games.
“... It will be great over there, showing (New Zealand) girls the fundamentals in games.”
Australian players will take part in three AFL 9s matches, a modified version of the game without contact.
Their week-long tour, predominantly in Auckland, is packed full of other leadership and skills sessions to promote the game.
Lynch could hardly wait.
The 16-year-old has been playing in the Ballarat Football League’s youth girls competition since it launched in 2011 and said the standard and popularity of the league had grown so much since that first season.
Lynch is also a member of North Ballarat Rebels’ youth girls academy, which runs sessions for talented footballers across western Victoria, including Geelong.
Her selection in this year’s AFL academy extended the work she was doing – on and off the field – with the Rebels.
The program mirrored the AIS-AFL Academy’s work with future draftee potential.
Lynch, who also plays schoolgirl football with the strong Ballarat High School senior girls team, is keen to make the most of any opportunity she can get in the game – especially with more pathways and opportunities opening up in senior women’s divisions.