QUEANBEYAN’S Jessica Stramandinoli is hoping selection in this year’s NSW/ACT under-18s side will propel her to All Australian selection.
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Stramandinoli spent three days in Melbourne last month at the AFL Women’s Academy camp featuring the top 22 youth girls from around the country.
As part of the program, the 15-year-old was put through her paces in a series of fitness tests before coaches cast their eyes over the players in action during an intra-squad match on the final day.
The camp had been designed as a final selection trial for the All-Australian under-16s women’s side that will travel to New Zealand in October.
But instead players will now have to impress at the under-18s Youth Girls National Championships in May if they are to earn a call-up for national duties.
“They were supposed to pick the team in Melbourne but that didn’t end up happening because they said it was going to be too hard to choose the side they wanted,” Stramandinoli said.
“So they’re going to wait until the under-18s championships in May instead. A lot of the girls from the camp are going to be there anyway so they’ll see how we go and pick from there.”
Stramandinoli was one of the NSW/ACT’s best at last year’s Youth Girls Championships and is a strong chance of earning selection for the combined states side once again in 2014.
The midfielder, who plays for Ainslie in AFL Canberra’s Youth Girls competition, was named as the club’s best and fairest last season and also represented the ACT at the School Sport Australia Championships in Darwin in August.