Bird the latest Karratha product playing at Swans

The Swan Districts connection with the Pilbara community is something of great pride in the football club and it's all about providing youngsters opportunities, and Indyana Bird is the latest to come from Karratha and play in the Rogers Cup team.

The work that the Swan Districts Football Club is doing to help the youngsters in the Pilbara region in the club's zone is all about helping to provide those in the region with an education and lifestyle development, and then using football on top of that as a bonus.

What it can also provide is those young players the chance to come to Perth to advance their football development and it can be equally exciting for the players themselves to come down to Perth, and also for everyone at the club to bring in such exciting and young talented players.

Bird is the latest to do so and she is able to come down to play with Swan Districts every second weekend for the 2024 Rogers Cup season and what she has shown so far this season has been exciting.

The 16-year-old is still living and going to school in Karratha, spending time with the Karratha Kats women's team and then coming down to play with the Rogers Cup team at Swan Districts when she can.

She was there again as a key part of the team that beat Perth by 37 points in the Round 6 match up on Sunday at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

While she hasn’t made the move from Karratha, having the chance to fly down and play with the Swans team is something she's grateful for being able to do.

"Haven’t moved down here yet but so far I have absolutely been loving it and thanks to my mum who can fly me down to Perth every second weekend and play with the Rogers," Bird said.

"So far i have been very welcomed to the club and have felt a part of the team straight away and have met some really nice girls and not to mention my coach Tayah (Reed)."

It has been a significant jump in the standard of playing for Bird to play Rogers Cup this year from what she has been playing even at senior level in the Pilbara with the Karratha Kats, but she's enjoying the challenge.

"The level of footy so far has been a bit different compared to up in Karratha as i have found it good but also challenging," she said.

"It is hard to get used to playing with a whole new level and a whole new team but also am loving the challenge and the different level and makes me want to push more."

As a 16-year-old Bird still has plenty of time on her side to continue to develop her football, to finish her schooling and then to take stock of what goals she wants to set herself both in terms of a career off the field, and then what she'd like to achieve on it.

But already she is showing enough encouraging signs playing with Swan Districts that suggests that playing a lot of WAFLW football with Swan Districts is in her future, and then reaching AFLW is well within her reach too.

"My goal is to pursue WAFLW in a higher level and playing Rogers Cup has made me strive really high and made me realise the ability of the Swans and myself and for myself to play a higher level of AFL and to push more and give it my all," Bird said.

"Some of the goals are to get into a higher level and to not doubt myself and trust my ability to move forward."

It's only natural for it to be daunting for any 16-year-old to be leaving the comforts of home to come down to the city and join a semi-professional environment at a football club.

However, having the support of everyone back home at the Karratha Kats, everyone down in Perth at Swan Districts and then her family led by her mother is certainly helping her embrace the entire experience.

"The best part is that I have been fully supported from the Karratha Kats women’s team and they have been very supportive with me throughout the past two years," Bird said.

"I have had an amazing coach Shane Mallard and Arron Minchin who have helped me achieve my goals throughout my past couple of years playing AFL.

"This whole experience has been amazing and as the Karratha Kats team has supported me and my new coach mike has encouraged me.

"Throughout this whole experience so far is having my mum supporting me and getting me amongst this whole thing and also having my boyfriend who plays in the futures Swans team who is also from Karratha supporting me heaps.

"The scariest part of this experience is probably putting myself out there and meeting everyone new and wanting to be accepted."