SYDNEY Swans have returned to the Coffs Coast, with the club’s women’s side taking part in an AFLW Community Camp and visiting local schools to help run clinics.
The Swans were put through their paces in a gruelling training session at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium, before hosting a junior clinic for their adoring young fans.
Swans player Rebecca Privitelli loved spending time in the area.
“I love Coffs, I come up here a fair bit as I find it such a beautiful place,” she said.
“I love Orara and the hinterlands, the beaches are beautiful, the fields are beautiful, the people are awesome, they are always so welcoming, and it’s a beautiful place.”
She emphasized the importance of the Swans visit.
“I think one of the best things about us coming up here is you look around and see all these kids coming to the clinic and it’s a really good opportunity for us to grow the game up here, and I think that’s the best thing about it.
“Obviously it’s a growing sport but I think we’ve done a lot of work over the last couple of years to keep making the game bigger and giving girls more opportunities to come in and play Aussie Rules.
“I think in NSW as a whole there’s a huge opportunity to keep growing the game.
“One of the biggest shifts I’ve noticed is people and the girls knowing the players, so they have idols now they can look up to… and go ‘well there’s an opportunity for me to make it to the AFLW one day’.
“Growing up when I was a kid I didn’t have that opportunity, so I think it’s so great that the girls have that opportunity now.”
The Sydney Swans take on the Essendon Bombers at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium during the final round of the AFLW season between 31 October and 2 November.
By Aiden BURGESS
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