Bathurst Giants women return to training ahead of Queanbeyan carnival

Little was amongst those players who turned out at the first training session of 2022 for the Bathurst Giants' women's side on Monday.

The 17-year-old is keen to continue her development in the sport as she graduates from the youth girls outfit into a senior Giants side which is a powerhouse of the AFL Central West's women's competition.

It's a sport she tried for the first time last season and one she soon developed a passion for.

"I started because I wanted to do a sport as I didn't do a sport the year before. I used to go to D2F and some of my friends from there said 'You should come and play AFL'," Little said.

"So thought I'd give it a try.

"I like the sport so I wanted to keep it going this year. I just want to go out and do it."

Little's path into the AFLCW mirrors that of many of her fellow Giants. While she'd had no previous Australian rules experience, some of the skills she had gained across other sporting codes helped her to adjust.

"I've played a bunch of other sports, I used to do boxing, soccer, netball, gymnastics, dancing," she said.

"It was so weird to start, the first time I kicked the ball I was terrible, it took me weeks, months to figure out how to actually kick it properly.

"But as soon as I got the hang of it I loved it, the environment is so good, everyone who is here is so supportive, it's great."

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After spending her debut season in a critical position, Little saying: "Last year I was the tallest in my team, so obviously that meant ruck", this year she is eager to play wherever she best fits into the senior side.

Mick Sloan, who coaches the side alongside Liz Kennedy, has already seen Little in action.

"I umpired quite a few games of youth girls last year, she was great," he said.

"She'd never played, but she was tall and athletic. She's keen to learn and she's coming into a really good squad. There is lots of support and teachers."

Little will be one of the new faces in the side for 2022. While the Giants have lost experienced trio Aimee Schmidt, Amber Stockman and Mikaela Kingham, they have retained the core of the squad which won the 2021 minor premiership.

The first assignment for that squad will be a pre-season carnival at Queanbeyan in late February.

"Queanbeyan is just a great opportunity for us to play at a really high level, it's ACT AFLW and there's also teams from Sydney and teams from the Central Coast," Sloan said.

"So it will be a much higher level than we're used to, that's why we are starting so early, to get a good base in before we get to the carnival."

Sloan revealed that the Giants will be joined by players from other AFLCW clubs in Queanbeyan as well.

"We asked the rep girls who went to Nowra last year if they were keen, it will be good for them and good for us to have a competitive side," he said.

"The bulk of the team will be Giants, but there will be one or two from Dubbo, one or two from Orange and maybe Bushrangers.

"It's going to be Saturday and Sunday, three games on the Saturday which is going to be massive and it's probably going to be hot, but we're keen to go, it will set us up for the season."

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