The first half of the season has been packed with action, development and history-making moments for the West Coast Eagles’ academy programs.

Across the NGA, NGAW and Futures programs, the academy has delivered strong progress in football reaching more communities than ever, allowing the next generation to rise.

For the first time in the NGAW program’s history, 25 young female athletes stepped into a match simulation session at Mineral Resources Park, a major step forward for the Eagles’ next generation pathway.

Female Academy Lead Naomi Baker touched on the significance of this moment, highlighting how the immense growth across the first half of the football season has provided a clearer trajectory for the academy’s female pathways.

“We have had so many new players become involved this year, allowing them to both showcase their skills and have fun as a group,” Baker said.

“The Club’s Naitanui Academy is already such an established program for the boys, so match-play opportunities like this are a great way for our female players to experience higher level footy and the elite environment here at West Coast.”

The mid-year school holidays also provided the Naitanui Academy with some highlight moments in what was a busy two-week block.

The Naitanui Academy 16’s had the opportunity to compete in a hit-out against the Perth Demons 16’s, whilst the 14’s went head-to-head with Fremantle’s NGA 14’s squad.

Both games were competitive clashes, delivering strong performances whilst highlighting the depth of talent emerging through the program.

They also provided a great opportunity for the Academy’s regional players to showcase their talent, with players traveling from regions such as Port Headland, Pilbara, Albany and Kalgoorlie.

Naitanui Academy Manager Chris Brown highlighted the importance of match-play opportunities for these young players across Perth and the regions in displaying their skills at a higher level.

“This school holiday period provides a great opportunity for these players to come to Perth and showcase themselves in front of our metro-based academy staff,” Brown said.

“With WAFL Colts coming up next year and for those involved in Futures WAFL, being able to impress those clubs with the talent managers that came down and watched is a big opportunity.”

In addition to an already busy period, the Futures program brought together 24 boys and nine girls for a combined session for some of the high-level academy talent.

The young players were provided with opportunities to go inside the inner sanctum, learning directly from Eagles’ strength and conditioning coaches and AFLW players Lauren and Zoe Wakfer.

The players training side by side with these high standards allowed them to sharpen their skills during their school break, whilst solidifying the program’s commitment to developing talent across various pathways and levels.

The July school holidays provided an important period for the Eagles’ academies team, with the NGAW program breaking new ground whilst the Naitanui Academy continues to go from strength-to-strength.

Thanks to the support of BHP and Eastern Guruma, the West Coast Eagles academy programs are providing elite sporting environments for youth and developing stronger regional pathways for the next generation of footballers across WA.