Hamilton's women's football side ready to make mark in the Western Victoria Female Football League

Played under lights on Friday, Hamilton welcomes Warrnambool in the first of three round one matches.

Hamilton mentor Pat Sherlock, who returns for a second year at the helm, expects a tough contest against the Clare Tilley-coached Blues outfit, with both teams about par last year.

"We're looking forward to playing the Blues, we played them twice last year and we won one and lost one," Sherlock said.

"It was a good culture the last time we played; it was all in good fun and about trying to promote women's footy.

"We're looking forward to seeing how they've shaped up this year and how we're shaping up."

With last year's COVID-19 restrictions playing havoc to the fixture, and with the grand final between Portland and South Warrnambool unable to be played, Sherlock is crossing his fingers his team can further develop with less interruptions.

"Last year we had a tough year, we played the top two sides four times and only played seven games," Sherlock said. "We didn't even get to play Horsham.

"We had about four or five players who have actually played footy before last year. We now have that core group from last year keen to play again, and we've been able to recruit in the summer and get some more girls involved. Numbers are looking a lot better.

"Everyone is excited and ready to go. Hopefully we can get a full season, a full 14 rounds of football."

Hamilton's squad will be bolstered by several juniors, with the club recently withdrawing its under 18 team due to limited numbers.

"Our 16, 17 and 18-year-olds are going to come and play senior football with us," Sherlock said. "They'll fit in nicely, they've got youth on their side and all they want to do is run and compete.

"They'll definitely help out our mature girls that are playing, to do that grunt, running work and set us up well."

Hamilton and Warrnambool's round one clash begins 7.30pm on Friday, while Horsham and Stawell host Portland and South Warrnambool respectively on Sunday from 12.30pm.

MORE SPORT:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: