For the first time in a generation, Bathurst District Football (BDF) will have a senior women's representative side in action against Dubbo on Saturday evening.
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The match, which is being dubbed the Inter-town Challenge, is the first time in well over 20 years, at least according to women's coach Andrew Speed, Bathurst has had a women's senior side in action.
"I can't remember having a Bathurst men or ladies senior side and I've been in Bathurst District Football for 25 years," he said.
"I might be wrong, but it's been well over 20 years since our last one."
Because it's been so long since Bathurst have had a women's senior, Speed, who is also president of BDF, is keen to see the challenge grow.
"We'll just start with one to two games this year and hopefully it can grown from there," he said.
"It's just a good competition to get the Bathurst teams playing as a team and Dubbo were really keen to get involved.
"The whole idea is to hopefully get three to four more games next year and to build a representative season up for both the men and women."
Bathurst have a host of talent in its squad, former Western NSW Mariners junior players Madi Pearce and Laura Risch included in the team.
There are five players that featured in Panorama's Bathurst District Football first grade 2018 grand final winning side − goal-machine Haley Cheney, Emily Cochrane, Madi Gallegos, Lisa Matthews and Phoebe Rhodes − while last year's CSU first grade coach Riley Smith is also in the squad.
The whole idea is to hopefully get three to four more games next year and to build a representative season up for both the men and women.
- Andrew Speed
Speed has been impressed with his team, who have been training for over a month.
"We started training about five weeks ago, once a week, and they've all impressed me," he said.
"All of them are keen and the quality of the girls are really good."
Speed did admit he knows nothing about his Dubbo opposition, but it's fair considering the Inter-town Challenge is a new initiative.
"It'll be the interesting having us go up against a district side that we know nothing of," he said.
David Jeffrey, Alex Richardson-Bell and Shane Sutton will be mentoring the Dubbo side.
Their women side have been training twice a week and performed "better than expected" in a recent trial against a Dubbo men's side.
"They're excited, but nervous obviously because a lot of them haven't sort of played at that next level," Richardson-Bell said.
"But they seem ready.
"It's a great opportunity for them … it's the next level to close the gap between local and representative soccer."
Saturday's game will get underway at 5pm, at Proctor Park's main field.
- BATHURST WOMEN: Minna Annand (CSU), Laura Banning (Macquarie), Abi Chadwick-Cocks (Bathurst '75), Haley Cheney (Panorama), Emily Cochrane (Panorama), Anna Coombes (Macquarie), Lucy Field (Macquarie), Madi Gallegos (Panorama) Jess Marshall (Macquarie), Lisa Matthews (Panorama), Madi Pearce (Panorama), Phoebe Rhodes (Panorama), Laura Risch (Panorama), Izzy Speed (Macquarie), Riley Smith (CSU)