Cardiff president Quinton Davis said adding a women’s team has re-energised the club as they plot to become the premier destination for AFL in the Hunter.
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Davis has been overwhelmed by the response to two trial days for women they held in pre-season.
“We anticipated we would get 22 players,” Davis said. “We have got 36 players registered at the moment and they are getting over 25 to training two nights a week.
“It’s been great for the club. You don’t realise it’s such a male-dominated club but it has changed everything for the better.
“They bring a lot of energy to the club; we have had combined training sessions, BBQs after training, social events and the men and women have been supporting each other on game day, so a lot of good things have come from it.”
Cardiff were the premier BDAFL club a decade ago. They were 2002 grand final winners then went on to claim three straight championships between 2004-2006.
This year they are third after 10 rounds and well off the pace of runaway league leaders Newcastle City and Terrigal Avoca in second.
Davis said they were in a rebuilding phase but the club’s five-year plan was to have both the men and the women dominating their competitions.
It has also just been confirmed Cardiff will be based at a new $7 million facility at Cameron Park from 2018.
“We are building momentum into Cameron Park,” he said. “It is a five-year plan to get back to the top and be the destination AFL club of the area.”
The women are already showing promising signs. A squad of mostly newcomers are fifth and well in the mix for a finals appearance.
Players have come from a variety of backgrounds and include some talented sportswomen.
Newcastle Hunters basketballer Charlotte Bull was one of the first to sign up but is sidelined with a knee injury.
Former National Netball League goal shooter Lara Cranfield (nee Welham) is also on the books.
And leading the charge is Sydney first-grade cricketer Eliza Bunner, who feels like she has reinvented herself.
“I’ve really fallen in love with the game and am actually really enjoying it,” said the Hawks captain, who had previously only played one AFL match when at school.
“I did need a break from cricket, so it’s been good for that, and it will definitely help with fitness as I start to prepare for the next cricket season.
“I found out about it the first day of uni this year and thought I would give it a go and it turned out to be awesome.”
Bunner is one of 10 Cardiff players named in an extended BDAFL women’s representative squad to play AFL Canberra next month.
