Three Maroochydore stars will make their AFLW debuts after being drafted by the Brisbane Lions.
Maggie Harmer and Bella Smith, along with Mikayla Pauga, were selected for the big stage after impressing with the Roos in the Queensland competition.
Maggie and Bella are from Noosa and Mikayla from Narangba.
Maggie said she was “absolutely over the moon” to be picked.
“It’s a dream come true,” the 18-year-old said after going at No.18.
“I’m looking forward to the training intensity, being at a professional level and getting to know the girls.”
Maggie broke new ground in her sporting family, which has a netball and rugby union background. Her father Tony is a legend at the Noosa Dolphins Rugby Union Club.
“I kind of jumped codes but it’s obviously paid off,” she said.
“I always thought it would be amazing to be drafted, but I don’t think it really kicked in until I started playing senior football for the Roos, when and I thought ‘wow, it’s something that could really happen.”
She started playing AFL because a couple of her friends did.
“I thought I’d give it a go and I just loved it.”
A halfback, she came through the ranks at the Noosa Tigers, before joining the Roos.
She finished her schooling at Good Shepherd Lutheran College last year and has been busy with football, studying primary education, helping children with disabilities and working as a barista.
Meanwhile, Bella said she was “rapt” to be picked at No. 35 and was itching to play in the AFLW.
“I can’t wait to get into it,” she said.
“I’m kind of halfway now, getting drafted, and the next step is to try and get a game, so I’m as keen as.”
Bella has grown up around AFL – her father Damian is a club icon at the Noosa Tigers.
“I started playing around 8-years-old and I’ve never looked back,” she said.
Like Maggie, she came through the Tigers’ ranks, before playing for the Roos.
The 17-year-old midfielder is a student at Good Shepherd Lutheran College and juggles schoolwork and football.
“It’s been pretty hard, I’m not going to lie, but my school has been good working with me, so I can do both.”
Mikala said her selection (at No. 46) was “slowly sinking in”.
From Narangba, she linked with the Roos for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, before getting a scholarship with Bond University for this year. She’s studying psychology there.
She got hooked on football at high school, when she got involved in the football program.
The 18-year-old said she’s developed her skills significantly in recent times.
“My kicking accuracy and ground-ball work have really improved,” she said.
“We had a coach who was always sticking it to us, saying if we wanted to get drafted then they were the little things we needed to work on.”
The Roos have a reputation for developing AFLW players.
Lily Postlethwaite and Isabel Dawes were drafted by the Lions ahead of the 2020 season, when Kate Surman went to the Gold Coast.
“It (being drafted) is not what it is all about but it’s a really good bonus for the club to able to say they’ve got a few girls who have now made that next step,” Roos coach Steve Moody said.
“It’s a good reflection on what the club is doing.”
Moody praised the latest crop of players, who were also members of the national NAB AFL Women’s Academy.
He said Maggie was a “reliable, smart footballer”.
“She has a good football IQ and understands what to do at the right times. She is also a good intercept marker. She probably needs to work on her athleticism but she’s going to go really well because she’s so coachable. She wants to improve and is highly motivated.”
Moody said Bella was trending upwards.
“She’s getting better with her hands and has got a very competitive streak, which will go a long way to suiting at AFLW level.”
“She’s working hard on improving her skill-set, which she knows she has to do, and is very coachable.”
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Mikayla was the Roos’ best and fairest in 2020 as a 17-year-old small forward.
“She is only just over 160cm but is really clean, skill-wise,” the coach said.
“She knows what to do in most situations and she is very strong.
“I think she’ll become a really good small forward.
“I’m really pleased they are going to the Lions because I think (coach) Craig Starcevic and the people there are doing a great job with a strong program.”
The AFLW season is set to kick-off in December, with a likely expanded 18-team competition.
Meanwhile, The Roos finished third in this year’s state competition, beaten by Bond Uni in the preliminary final.
