West Coast Eagles Women’s and Naitanui Academies to run clinics in Manjimup

Two West Coast Eagles female stars are set to land in the lower South West Friday to run a clinics for keen young footballers on the rise. AFLW West Coast players Shanae Davison and Lauren Wakfer will be attending and help co-ordinate the Women’s Academy, along with South West co-ordinators Josh Cassidy and Brad Nisbett. Wakfer was drafted into the West Coast Eagles women’s team this year as a ruck, while Davison has been a forward player for the Eagles since 2020. The Manjimup training session will take place at the Manjimup Recreation Ground from 12.30pm to 1.45pm. A Naitanui Academy session will also run alongside the women’s clinic as part of the Manjimup visit, between 11am to 12.15pm at the same venue. The academy, named after All-Australian ruckman and former club champion Nic Naitanui, focuses on developing youngsters, with a focus on those with diverse and multicultural backgrounds. Both the Naitanui and Women’s academies visited Bunbury and Dunsborough on Tuesday as a part of their South West program, with the Manjimup session this Friday being the last location for the region wide trip. Both academies hope to bring opportunities for young male and female aspiring footballers and allow them to develop their skills as football players, while also promoting AFL as a sport of choice and bringing awareness to the sport to the region. Mr Cassidy says the resources and the access to the football club will benefit the lower South West region and the players who are interested. “You’re going to have coaching expertise from the West Coast Eagles, you’re going to have current AFLW players running some sessions, you’re going to get those professional resources from the club.” he says. “In the regional areas, there’s not exactly a lot of opportunities to do this stuff, so we’re looking to try and run these sessions more regularly within the lower South West.”