THE Gunnedah Bulldogs ambitions of fielding a women's team during the 2020 AFL North West season are closer to being a reality after the club hosted a come and try day on Saturday.
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More than 20 potential women's players took part in the event in Wolseley Park, which focused on basic skills and finished with a barbeque lunch.
Players from both the Tamworth Kangaroos and the Tamworth Swans helped run the session by helping the newcomers with the game's fundamental skills.
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Bulldogs men's coach Doug Meagher said the event was a major success.
"It was a really great day and we are so thankful the players from the Tamworth clubs came over to help out," Meagher said.
"We had 22 players on the day, including 10 locals who came along to give it a try.
"There was also about five apologies for people who couldn't get there, so I think we probably have about between 17-20 people who have expressed an interest in playing.
"At this stage, we genuinely believe we will have a side this year."
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to keeping the success going by hosting a come and try day for juniors on Saturday.
"We're hosting a session at Wolseley Oval between 10am and 11am to get an idea of whether it's possible for us to launch an under-14 team this year," Meagher said.
"One benefit of the under-14 competition is that it is mixed, so it provides a great opportunity for any young boys and girls interested in the game to give it a go.
"Hopefully we can get a strong turnout on the day and can really start building a solid foundation for the future."
As for the men's team, Meagher said his side would begin pre-season training this week.
"Success breeds success and we will certainly looking to carry on last year's success," he said.
"We will officially start pre-season training this week, but a lot of our guys have been playing AFL 9s for the past two months.
"Therefore, we won't be too focused on the fitness side of things and more on our game style.
"I think it will be a lot of fun, so if there's anyone out there interested in giving it a go they are more than welcome to come down."
The Bulldogs will train at Wolseley Oval on Tuesday nights from 6pm.