AFLW STAR PHOEBE WILLIAMS AT MUSTANGS TRAINING

Phoebe McWilliams visits Kiloran Reserve to take our Senior Women for Thursday Night Training

Phoebe McWilliams was a pioneer in women’s football, helping shape the AFLW from its early days. She played in exhibition matches for the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne before joining GWS Giants as a priority player in 2016. As an inaugural player for Geelong in 2019, she continued to make her mark, reaching the 50 game milestone in Round 2 of the 2023 season.

Starting her AFLW career after being recruited from the St Kilda Sharks, McWilliams debuted in 2017 and quickly became a key forward for GWS, leading the club’s goal kicking in both 2017 and 2018. In her time with the Giants, she played 14 games and scored 14 goals before making the move to Geelong, where she played 31 games and became their leading goal scorer in Season 6. Known for her elite marking ability, Phoebe earned two Mark of the Year nominations in 2018 and 2019, showcasing her incredible aerial skills.

During a recent training session, our Senior Women had the opportunity to learn from McWilliams' expertise in marking and body positioning. The session began with overhead ball throws in pairs, focusing on hand positioning for clean marking. The women then worked on foot placement and launching techniques, using the knee and base leg to step up into the mark.

The drills progressed to body positioning exercises in threes, helping players learn how to create space in contested situations. Players then moved around cones, competing for the ball in the air, before finishing with leading drills, first without a defender and then with defensive pressure applied.

McWilliams' session was an invaluable experience, offering players an insight into the skills and techniques that made her one of the AFLW’s top forwards. Her journey from exhibition games to AFLW goal-scoring leader and elite marking specialist is an inspiration to aspiring footballers.

Her return to the field, whether as a player, mentor, or coach, continues to shape the future of women’s football, reinforcing her status as one of the game’s greats.

Our Senior Women kick off their season soon with an announcement from EFNL coming soon.