Almost a decade ago, Kuwarna became one of eight clubs to field a team in the inaugural AFLW competition and with that, came a responsibility to grow the women’s game.
It’s a responsibility not taken lightly, according to Head of Women’s Football Phil Harper, and is a key pillar of the work the program does.
This was on show during its 2025 Community Camp in the Riverland, where it took the chance to help with the SANFL’s quest to start a women’s football league in the region.
As part of that, the three-time AFLW premiers hosted a training session for women’s footballers across the region, with players running drills and sharing their experiences of playing at the highest level.
The session capped a successful three-day trip to the Riverland, according to Harper.
“The highlight came on Monday night, the SANFL is trying to start a women’s league, so we put on a training session there to bring players from the region together,” Harper said.
“Our girls really loved the session, they were very hands-on and acted more as the coaches for a change, helping the players with a number of different things.
“Talking to a few of the Riverland girls that attended the session, they absolutely loved it, and got a lot out of coming together and learning from our players, which was great to hear.”
Harper has been a key figure in helping grow the Club’s AFLW program and has seen women’s football grow rapidly in South Australia, with nearly 1000 teams playing across the state.
But while the growth has been positive, Harper said work still needed to be done in regional areas.
“When our team first started there were only five or six teams in the whole state of South Australia playing women’s footy,” Harper said.
“That has now multiplied to nearly 1000 teams in the state which is great, but the majority of those are in the metro area, so getting out into those regional areas is super important.
“Country footy is the life-blood of our game, there is so much talent in areas such as the Riverland, so to have the opportunity to help nurture that is something we are very fortunate to do.
“Hopefully in the future we can benefit from the growth of the game in regional areas, and have some talented players join us here at Kuwarna.”
The impact of the work Kuwarna did in the Riverland during its Community Camp was not lost on the locals.
Former Berri Football Netball Club president Barry Leathers said it was an honour to host the Kuwarna girls and explained how impactful the session was for the locals that attended.
“Being out there and watching the session was fantastic, the region was so lucky to have the Kuwarna team come up, and they did a great job in helping our local girls,” Leathers said.
“Speaking to a few of the (local) girls after the session, they were so happy and got a lot out of it.
“Here at Berri, women’s footy has been fantastic for us, the team has performed strongly and it’s really given the whole Club a boost, so the more girls from the Riverland being able to play, the better.”
Kuwarna kicks off its 2025 AFLW pre-season on Monday, May 19, before the season starts in August.
The 2025 AFLW fixture will be released at a later date.
