Round one of the inaugural AFL Women’s competition begins this weekend with the Brisbane Lions playing the Melbourne Demons in Melbourne.
The Lions number 11, Leah Kaslar, of the Gold Coast and is looking forward to representing the region in the competition.
The 31-year-old environmental scientist is a member of the Lions’ leadership group and is looking forward to mentoring the younger players.
My BT Gold Coast caught up with Kaslar to talk about the ground breaking competition and her own football journey.
Q: What are you most looking forward to most about the AFL Women’s competition?
A: I’m looking forward to the opportunity to showcase what we have worked so hard to achieve and to be able to inspire the next generation of girls coming through. We had a practice match with girls from youth teams watching us and they had jerseys asking us to sign them, it was kind of surreal. The reaction was incredible.
Q: Tell readers a bit about your childhood and where you grew up?
A: I grew up in North Queensland, quite close to Palm Cove. I played a lot of basketball and I also enjoyed fishing.
Q: You live on the Gold Coast and play for the Coolangatta Blues in the QWAFL. Do you feel like your representing this region in the AFL Women’s competition?
A: Yeah I definitely do. It’s a lot of travel living on the Gold Coast. I work full-time as an environmental scientist working on water treatment plants and chemical data. I am quite busy and it certainly requires me to be organised. The Gold Coast is so important to me and I love the area. I love surfing. The Brisbane Lions are a great club with a lot of history and I am really proud to be representing this end of the coast by playing for them. We have got a huge amount of female players on the Gold Coast so it’s really nice that there is a pathway for them to play.
Q: How do you think the Lions will go against Melbourne on Sunday?
A: We have done everything we can to be ready for this game. I think we have given ourselves every chance of success. It is a bit of an unknown quantity not knowing some of the other players on the other teams. As we see the games unfold this weekend it will be really interesting for us to see how they play, and what their structures are like, and which players stand up. We are confident knowing we prepared as well as we possibly could.
Q: You are one of the more senior players on the team and a values leader. Do you feel like you have extra responsibility?
A: I have played in most of the exhibition games leading up to this and I have played high level football, so I really hope to be able to bring that experience to some of the newer players on the team. It’s all about managing the stress and knowing how to prepare. I really enjoy helping others and providing leadership.
Q: Are you looking forward to travelling around Australia for the matches?
A: I love travelling and I’m looking forward to seeing the different grounds and enjoying the experience of travelling together. There is always a lot of fun going on the planes together and staying with the team.
Q: The league is currently semi-professional would you like to see it become professional in the future?
A: It’s really good that the AFL have given us a platform to start off with. Through all the hard work that we have put in hopefully we have a really exciting and dynamic brand of football out there. I would love to see it become full-time one day.
Q: You had a stand out season in the QWAFL and you won the best and fairest award. Do you feel like you’re in similar form to last year?
A: I’d like to think I’m in better form. It was a really nice accolade. When you have a good team around you it’s easier to look good. There were lots of great players in that competition. I have a higher level of fitness and I feel faster. I have been working really hard over the past three months and therefore I’m expecting to be even better yet.
Who do you think we should send a Q&A? What should we ask them? Send your list of questions to goldcoast@brisbanetimes.com.au and we’ll do our best to track down some answers.
