Perth Football Club partner with Penrhos College

Penrhos College is proud to announce the launch of its brand-new AFL facilitated program with Perth Football Club Inc (PFC).

As part of an exclusive and exciting new partnership with PFC, Penrhos secondary students will have the opportunity to participate in PFC coached training sessions, starting with skills / trials sessions later this month.

In seeking to help support the establishment of pathways for girls into the AFLW, Penrhos will promote the progression of all IGSSA AFLW competition students into nominated Junior Football Clubs within the PFC zone.

“Perth Football Club sees this as the first exciting step into its Women’s Football project, with the target of entering a Rogers Cup (under 17s) team into the WAFLW competition in 2023. We hope several of these Penrhos girls will be leaders in that inaugural team,” said Club President, Bob Shields, as he formally announced the at the Perth Football Club Presidents Luncheon at Saturday’s final game of the 2021 season last Saturday. 

“This is an exemplar of how WAFL clubs can contribute back to their communities,” went on Kelly Townson, Perth Football Club, Board Director. “To join and be part of the Rogers and WAFLW leagues will take time - we need to begin by working within our community to highlight and develop girls’ and women’s talent to seed our teams.” 

A high quality and experienced football coaching panel has been established for Penrhos, under the coordination of Brady Grey – former Fremantle Dockers player and current West Coast AFLW assistant coach.  All Penrhos AFLW teams will be coached by current Senior League players from PFC, supplemented by Grey’s targeted specialist skills coaching. 

Together, Penrhos and PFC will be looking for lots more opportunities to grow their association - for example, for Penrhos teams to play in curtain raiser / half-time events, and for Penrhos to potentially host community AFLW clinics on campus.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Penrhos to directly support the progression of interested girls into the AFLW. Also, for all our students to have access to such fantastic professional coaching and training opportunities. I am very keen to progress the idea of hosting broader community AFLW clinics also, this would be a brilliant way for Penrhos to become a destination for all girls in the area with a passion for AFLW” said Penrhos Principal, Kalea Haran.

‘Our Penrhos values are very much in line with those of PFC. Our desire to facilitate inspirational experiences and create developmental pathways for our students to pursue their passions and talents is at the forefront of this initiative,” continued Penrhos’ Director of Operational Services and Co-Curricular Paul McCarthy. “Our students are super excited and can’t wait to get started! This is perfect timing for all concerned - I am confident the partnership will go from strength to strength as more young female players become interested in the sport and find out about the opportunities available to them.”

All Penrhos students who engage in Term 4 AFL programs will receive a 2022 PFC Junior membership and merchandise pack.