GOLD COASTER Leah Kaslar is among the five Queenslanders to be selected in the inaugural AFL Women’s Draft, with the star key position player set to take part in a women’s exhibition curtain-raiser during the AFL Women’s Round on Saturday 29 June at the MCG.

Joined alongside by fellow Queensland talents Natalie Thomas (pick 20), Kate Lutkins (pick 28), Ally Anderson (pick 38) and Emily Bates (pick 48), Kaslar participate in the first ever AFL sanctioned women's match after being taken by the Melbourne Demons with the 37th overall pick in the draft.

For Kaslar’s Palm Beach Currumbin teammate Lauren James, the achievement is reward for effort after several representative honours and best-on-ground performances with the local AFL club.

“She plays in the ruck and is just brilliant at it,” James said.

“We can always rely on her to get it out to us 100% of time, and while recently she’s spent a bit of time up forward with the Queensland State team her main position is ruck.”

James said Kaslar was still coming to terms that she’d be running out onto the turf at the home of AFL – the MCG.

“She still can’t believe it, she’s just so stoked and happy and while she may think it’s just luck the fact is that she’s just that skilled and talented – I’m just so happy for her.”

Having grown up watching the national sport on the television screen, Kaslar said she couldn’t wait to live out her dream of playing at the iconic football stadium.

“It’s a really big step forwards for my football, and it’s pretty much everyone’s dream to play footy at the MCG so in a lot of ways it’s a dream come true,” said Kaslar.

But with women’s AFL still going through the growing pains at the grassroots level, Kaslar is hoping to inspire the next generation of female AFL players to take up the sport.

“There’s definitely not a lot of awareness in Women’s League at the moment, as I quite often meet people who are surprised when they find out I play AFL,” Kaslar said.

“So I think this is a really big step forward as I want to bring inspire and share this sport with as many girls as possible, because it really is such a great sport and I have such a love and strong passion for it.”

To register your interest, or to learn more about the Palm Beach Currumbin Lion’s women’s team, please contact Team Manager Hollie Dyer at 0477 883 587 or via email holliedyer@hotmail.com