FORMER Kerang teenager, Bella Ayre’s dream of playing Australian Rules football at the national level has come earlier than anticipated.
The 17-year-old will play with Carlton in the inaugural AFL Women’s season after the Blues took her with pick 51 in Wednesday’s draft.
The forward has dominated both in Youth Girls and open-age competitions, named as an All-Australian in the Youth Girls level last month.
Ayre also played this season with Victorian Women’s Football League Premier Division runners-up, Bendigo Thunder, claiming the competition’s best first year player medal and led the league in goals kicked.
“I went into the draft with no expectations, and was happy to be picked up by any club,” the Bendigo Senior Secondary College student said.
“It is a dream to even be drafted.”
Ayre’s footballing career began as an eight-year-old, playing matches with local sides Kerang, Koondrook/Barham, the Mallee Eagles and Wandella.
Once reaching the age when she could only play in girls competitions, Ayre and her family commuted weekly to Bendigo, forging a name at Huntly as a key forward.
This led to selection both at national Schoolgirls and AFL Youth Girls carnivals.
Ayre also played at Woorinen this year, before progressing to the VWFL’s Bendigo team.
“Secretly, Carlton was my preferred choice and to be chosen by them is absolutely amazing,” she said.
The chances of Ayre playing next season are high, with each club having a squad of 25 players and two rookies.
Six rounds of home and away matches will occur during February and March, with the Blues competing against Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs for the inaugural premiership.
Two semi-finals will be held in March, with the winners of these games playing in the grand final.
“The creation of the national women’s competition has occurred sooner than expected, with talk it would not happen until another few seasons,” AFL Central Murray football development manager, Jamie Macri said.
“It is great to see someone who has worked so hard achieve their dream.”
