www.ntnews.com.au Friday, February 7, 2014. NT NEWS. 23 PUB: NT NE- WS- DA TE: 7-FE GE: 23 C LO- R: C M Y K FOOTBALL By JESS WEBSTER THE AFL has it eyes on star Waratahs forward Abbey Hol- mes ahead of her history- making goal quest in the NTFL women’s competition this weekend. Holmes needs two more majors against Tracy Village tomorrow to become the first player from an estab- lished women’s league in the country to kick 100 goals in a single season. The AFL’s national female development manager, Jan Cooper, said Holmes’ achieve- ment makes a ‘‘very compel- ling case’’ for the 23-year-old to be drafted by Melbourne or the Western Bulldogs, which created women’s teams for the first time last year. ‘‘Abbey and her teammates should feel justifiably proud of this incredible milestone,’’ she said. ‘‘Kicking 100 goals makes for a very compelling case for the AFL clubs to take notice of her. ‘‘When AFLNT provide vi- sion of her in action this will help her cause, too. ‘‘It would be so exciting having an NT representative (at AFL level).’’ Holmes’ 100-goal effort has even drawn praise from Terr- itory legend Andrew McLeod and Sydney Swans champion Warwick Capper. McLeod tweeted, ‘‘Good luck Abbey, crack that ton. #showingth- eboyshowitsdone #awesom- eeffort #territorytough,’’ while Capper wrote, ‘‘good luck @abbeycholmes! i kick- ed 100 in red and white too. great effort! enjoy it -WizZ.’’ AFLNT will schedule a NTFL Women’s All Stars clash in April and send foot- age to the two AFL clubs. The inaugural national women’s draft and AFL wom- en’s match was held last year between the Demons and Bulldogs in a one-off curtain- raiser at the MCG in June. Territorian Bronwyn Davey, the older sister of for- mer Demons star Aaron, was chosen by Melbourne last year from Greenacres in South Australia with pick No. 49 under the family rule. Cooper said selectors were keen to cast the net far and wide with the long-term view of creating a fully-fledged AFL women’s competition in future years. ‘‘The selection process for 2014 will be much more rigor- ous and provides the best platform for players from oth- er states to compete for places,’’ she said. ‘‘This year will see a mini- mum of 24 places up for selection so there is a real op- portunity for the likes of Ab- bey and others in the Territ- ory to aspire towards gaining a draft position.’’ Cindy Farinosi (Innaloo) in 1997 and Kelly Lutey (Carlis- le) in 1992 unofficially sur- passed 100 goals in the West Australian Women’s Football League, prior to the compe- tition using unmodified rules. The league, which started with four teams and played 15-a-side on a modified oval over 14 rounds, was unable to locate its exact goal-kicking tallies on record. South Australian-born Hol- mes has broken several re- cords in the NTFL compe- tition since pulling on the boots for the first time in the 2012-13 season. She kicked the most goals in a women’s season last year with 67 — including nine in the War- riors’s grand final win over St Marys — in her first full season of senior football. Holmes also broke the re- cord for most goals in a single game (12) in Round 1 before setting the bar even higher with 16 during a 202-0 maul- ing of Southern Districts in Round 6. She has averaged 7.5 goals per game from her 13 matches this season. Waratahs take on the Razorbacks at 12.15pm at Tracy Village Sports Club tomorrow. Chapman’s appetite for game impresses Dons Paul Chapman COACH Mark Thompson knew just what Essendon were getting when they threw an AFL lifeline to Paul Chapman. The Bombers’ players — in- cluding some awestruck youngsters — are now also fully aware what the triple- premiership star brings to the table. Chapman made his senior debut at Geelong in 2000 — Thompson’s first year at the helm with the Cats. Their hugely-successful partnership at the Cattery yielded 199 games and 264 goals for Chapman, along with a Norm Smith Medal, a best-and-fairest award, two All-Australian selections and two flags. The rugged forward also claimed a third premier- ship at Geelong in 2011, under Thompson’s replacement Chris Scott. But when the Cats decided to move the ultra-competitive Chapman on at the end of last season, it was no surprise it was the Bombers who came calling under Thompson, standing in for a year as coach in place of the sus- pended James Hird. ‘‘Chappy hasn’t lost any- thing in his ability to play,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘But the key thing for him, as it is for anyone who gets older, is if his body is going to be able to do it over the dur- ation of a season. I think if we manage him, it will.’’ Hamstring injuries limited Chapman to just eight games in 2013, although signifi- cantly that included a match- winning four-goal effort in the semi-final win over Port Adelaide which turned out to be his swan song for the Cats. Thompson compared Chap- man — now a 32-year-old vet- eran of 251 games — with oth- er old stagers such as ever- green Essendon teammate Dustin Fletcher and former Carlton great Craig Bradley, who played at the top level until he was 38. ‘‘Those guys are mentally up for the game,’’ said Thomp- son. ‘‘They like coming to training. ‘‘They don’t necessarily like the weights or they don’t necessarily like the recovery sessions or the stretching, but they do them because their appetite to play is really high. ‘‘With Chappy, when we met with him you could just tell that he wanted to play.’’