South Warrnambool captain Matilda Ryan to play 50th game for Roosters on Sunday

Roosters skipper Matilda Ryan, 21, will play game 50 for the club in the blockbuster clash, six years after playing her first senior match as a 15-year-old. Ryan has been with club since it started in a women's team and couldn't picture herself anywhere else.

"I've been there from the start and I absolutely love it," she said. "There's been a lot of people come and go but it's awesome what South have been doing to build it from there.

"Now we've got the under 14s, the under 18s and the seniors."

Ryan joined the Roosters' women's outfit in 2017 as she was too old to play with the boys at Dennington - the club where she played her junior football. When a WVVFL under 18 competition was introduced she played for the Roosters' inaugural side before eventually returning to the senior team in 2022.

Ryan admitted she hadn't thought too much about Sunday's milestone and was instead firmly focused on the challenge Horsham presented.

The Roosters and the Demons are both undefeated from three games this campaign, with the winner likely to earn itself early-season premiership front-runner status.

"They gave us a good run for our money last year," Ryan said. "I think all the girls are very excited to give it a crack. (It's) finally our first home game."

The 21-year-old is enjoying her leadership role after taking on the captaincy at the beginning of the season.

"It was pretty intimidating at first but now that I'm in the rhythm, the girls are so supportive, it's such a good group and I love them to bits," she said.

Ryan said she was thrilled to see and be a part of the growth of the women's game.

"It's been incredible," she said. "Watching it change from having nothing then to see it grow here and then see it grow on TV, it's been awesome and now I get to be in a position where I can be a representation for the under 14 girls and show them what they can do.

"A lot of the girls in the senior women's are going to VFL now, so the pathways are just getting stronger and stronger and so are the skills and ability."

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