Season preview: Rebels Girls reveal round one teams as historic Talent League season begins

The Rebels will be led by former Adelaide and Gold Coast AFLW player Sally Riley, who was assistant coach to David Loader across both programs in 2022.

"It's definitely an exciting time, there's a real sense of achievement after the pre-season," Riley said.

"They've put in a mountain of work since November, a lot more compared to what they've ever done before."

The Talent League Girls season is set to run alongside the Boys for the first time, following the AFLW shifting to an August season start date.

It is a move that has seen the Talent League Girls season expand from a two-month fixture to now 17 rounds' worth of action.

"When there is an elite competition there needs to be an elite pathway," Riley said.

"It will take a bit of adjusting as the girls have never continuously played at that level.

"There will be lots of challenges but it provides a lot more opportunities for the girls and especially the girls in our region."

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Riley said the new-look season structure will better suit draftee hopefuls at the program.

"The girls are going to be much better prepared come the draft at the end of the year," she said.

"They'll be able to go straight into VFL training and get a solid six months of preparation before they are thrown into AFLW."

Some familiar faces have been spotted at Rebels trainings throughout the pre-season, with Rebels graduates Paige Scott and Sophie Molan passing on their wisdom.

"Paige is absolutely thriving in terms of giving back to the Rebels," Riley said.

"Not only is she helping the players but she's helping us coaches as well, we're loving having both her and Sophie Molan around, they just add so much value."

The Rebels players will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of both Scott and Molan this season, with Vic Country listed players Laila Lappin and Jess Rentsch ones to keep an eye on.

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The Talent League season begins on Saturday with both under-16 and under-18 Rebels Girls teams visiting Geelong for Riley's first game at the helm.

"I'm looking forward to it, I'm not sure how much I'll sleep on Friday night," Riley said.

"I'm excited for it to finally kick off and see how we go as a coaching group and staff."

The Rebels Girls enjoy five Ballarat home games out of a possible 13 matches in the 2023 Talent League Girls season.

The Greater Western Victoria Rebels begin their groundbreaking Talent League Girls season on Saturday in what is an exciting time for female junior footballers in Victoria.

The Rebels will take to Waurn Ponds for a historic opening round clash with Geelong, with the season set to run alongside the boys for the first time.

A whopping seven players will make their Talent League debut in Saturday's clash, with Sally Riley set to coach the side for the first time.

"There is a real sense of pride that they want to represent the GWV Rebels jumper for not just them but their home town or region," Riley said.

"It is super exciting to have six debutantes ranging from Chloe Oughtred as a 19-year-old to others who have worked extremely hard over the pre-season in order to earn their spot in the team."

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The players have a full pre-season under their belts as they head into a 17-round season, expanded from last year's 10-week fixture.

Rebels Talent Operations Lead Brooke Brown was full of praise for the players and new coach Riley.

"It has been wonderful to see the girls develop their skills and learn from our coach Sally Riley," Brown said.

"I can't speak highly enough of Sally, she is putting in the hard yards to try and get the best out of each and every girl.

"We are just really excited to finally put our practice into action with our first game this weekend."

Both under-16 and under-18 sides will line up at Geelong on Saturday.