Women’s Premier League Season To Be A Thriller In NTFL 2023-24
With numerous major offseason acquisitions and an increase in experience levels across the league, the Women's Premier League is poised for a breakout season. Check out the club developments in the article.
Offseason changes and a discernible increase in experience across the board at each team point to the 2023–24 season of the Women's Premier League being the most competitive one to date.
And to highlight the fact that the season will begin with a matchup that is considered to be one of the most important in the league, PINT will face the Darwin Buffaloes, who are the most recent champions.
During the offseason, the 2022-2023 premiership-winning Queenants went through some transitions, including the departure of longtime standout Katie Streader due to injury and the addition of Jahla Hunt from the Queenants to the emerging Palmerston side.
The likes of former Adelaide Crow Jasmyn Hewett, Amy Chittick, and Steph Lawrence will make them the team to watch once again.
Coach Rick Nolan noted that they had high expectations for the next season and that Kate Atkins was a player to watch.
A lot of new, highly athletic females from other sports have shown promise, and attendance has been fairly strong, so the preseason has been a success, he said.
We still have a lot of our A-list players like Jasmyn Hewett and Amy Chittick, and that's a big deal.
The reason why we all play Australian rules football is to win premierships, and we're going into this season with that as our primary objective in mind. "Going back-to-back is once again our primary ambition.
"We believe that we still have the talent to win all of our games this season, and that is one of our primary goals."
Tah's skipper, Kierra Zerafa, said that her team was ready to inflict some damage with a year of experience under their belts as they came up against their grand final opponents, Waratah, in the second round.
The team has already signed some players from other states to their roster, including Victoria Winstanley, who formerly played for the Southport Sharks in the Queensland AFLW, and Abi Adams, who previously played for Coburg in the Victorian AFL.
"It obviously hurt last year, so we're hitting the season again this year, and the goal would be a grand final again this year, but it's a long way off yet," Zerafa said. "We're hitting the season again this year and the goal will be a grand final again this year."
"Last season, we had a few younger players, including myself, going through the Premier League. This season, all of us will have more experience and a more mature understanding of how things operate at this level.
"We've worked really hard to be as fit as we can be, and hopefully we can come away with the win." "We've got Districts first up, and we need to go in hard and hit Round 1 with a bang."
New juniors like Keanne Hart-Aluni and Alysha Jeffrey are going to be leading the charge for the Darwin Buffaloes, which are going to be captained by Mel Taylor. Meanwhile, the skill pool at the Darwin Buffaloes is always expanding, and it will be on display during this match.
It has only been two years since they won the championship, and if they can get some of their top-tier players like Molly Althouse, Tayla Hart-Aluni, and Dom Carbone to play in a few games, they will be a formidable opponent.
Then there is Saint Mary's, which won 12 consecutive games during the 2022–2023 season and has the potential to achieve the same level of success again if they include their finest players, such as Danielle Ponter, in the competition.
And with Cassie McWilliam and Sophie Hatzismalis leading the charge for the Nightcliff Tigers, they are never out of the running for first place.
The young players from Palmerston will be the ones to keep an eye on, particularly Rising Star winner Tatyana Perry and Marika Carlton, who won the under-16 and under-18 best and fairest awards, respectively, in the previous season.
The Magpies have also been active in the recruiting department, securing the services of Hunt from PINT, Lydia Jenkins from Cairns, Ella Ward and Tahlia McRoberts from South Fremantle, and Shakara Newry from the Kimberly Spirits.
And then there is the natural talent of the Tiwi Bombers, with plenty of their players coming in match-fit from the Tiwi women's league. Moreover, there is the natural talent of the Tiwi Bombers.
Both the Southern Districts and Wanderers are also in the running for the championship, and both teams are currently in transitional phases in which they will be concentrating on growing their younger player rosters.