FROM a kid's perspective, nailing a drop punt on Tamworth's number one oval might appear a long way from the height's Sam Naismith has reached in Aussie rules footy.
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In a literal sense, the Gunnedah-born ruckman towers above most elite AFL players let alone the Tamworth youngsters craning their necks to grab a pearl of wisdom from the 2.05m-tall Sydney Swan.
But when Naismith looks back down at the grounds where he first kicked a Sherrin in the North West AFL comp, the one thing he notices is growth.
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The NSW/ACT AFL region noted a 41 per cent increase in female club participation last year. And numbers locally would be expected to reach new heights this year with the Tamworth Swans aiming to field a women's side in 2019 and numbers at inital training sessions have been decent.
"I see firsthand the development and participation numbers improving year-on-year," Naismith told the Leader.
"It is a great game and we're in rugby league heartland here, so it is always great seeing the game grow and hopefully in the future there are AFL players coming from Tamworth."
While he believed local participation was up across the board, it was hard to ignore the impact AFLW had was having nationally.
He said there were pathways for girls to play AFL professionally now which previously did not exist.
"And that all starts at grassroots," he said.
It could be easy to forget how far Naismith has come in the last 10 years since starting Aussie rules as Gunnedah Bulldog all the way to the code's zenith.
His career plateaued after an ACL injury in the 2017 finals wiped him out for more than 12 months.
He said the knee was good to go in 2019 and he should be in full flight with the Swans within the first six rounds of the season.
An admittedly ruthless industry which can send players to the scrapheap before their peak, Naismith believed the path would still be easier for aspiring North West youngsters.
"When I was growing up, there was no opportunity," he said.
"AFL when you were 16, you could play in the senior team that's against 30 year old men.
"There is a bit more of a pathway these days."
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
