State Match – Perth Football League v WA Country Football League
16 Jul, 2021
On Friday 23 July, the Perth Football League will take on the West Australian Country Football League (WACFL) under lights at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.
The night will include the first Women’s State teams for both Leagues at 6:10pm, followed by the Men’s State teams at 7:45pm. Free entry.
Darren Young will coach the Perth Football League Men’s side and will be hoping that his team can repeat their winning 2019 performance over the WACFL. Young has had a strong affiliation with the League for over 15 years as a player and coach, with his greatest achievement winning back-to-back premierships with Bassendean in 2018 and 2019.
For the sixth year in a row, the WACFL Men’s side will be coached by Craig Walker. Walker will be looking to atone for his side’s narrow loss against the Perth Football League in 2019. With the depth of talent currently found in the WACFL, he will be hoping that his side will put in a strong performance in what is set to be a cracking game under Friday night lights.
West Coast Eagles premiership player Beau Waters will be at the helm of the Perth Football League Women’s side. Renowned for his courage and physical style of play, Waters will be hoping to instill some of his trademark toughness into his players in order to claim victory in the inaugural Women’s State match.
The WACFL appointed Michelle Harris as this year’s State Women’s Coach. Harris was the inaugural South West Football League Women’s Premiership Coach from the Nutrien Ag Championships in 2019. She was appointed to the position because of her extensive credentials over 12 years of coaching experience. Harris was a Coach and Assistant Coach of the WA under-18 Women’s side, an Assistant Coach for four years at the Eaton Boomers and holds the title of WA’s Australian Football Coaches Association 2011 Female Coach of the Year.
The relationship between Amateur Football and Country Football is a strong one – as our two associations have often shared our love of the game, exchanged players, traded innovations, and competed most years on the field.
As the Perth Football League are celebrating 100 years in 2021, a State reunion will be held on the night with members of the 1991 Amateur State Team which remains the only WA team to win the National Amateur Carnival. The memories and connections formed by these players is a special bond which demonstrates the benefit and value of continuing representative football programs.
The night will be particularly special for all the women playing for both teams as this is the first State representative match for both associations. This is great recognition for the success of how far female football has come in both associations and will only continue to grow as more females get involved with the game.
2021 Perth Football League State Squads
