The Yass Magpies' stellar year just got better.
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When the Monaro Women's squad was announced last week, ahead of the 2020 Country Championships, 10 Magpies were on the list out of a total of 26 named.
Such strong representation in a high-level competition, Yass coach Josh Hardy said, was indicative of the work his team had put in.
"The girls have been progressing really well, there's a lot of girls that have worked really hard to get into the position they have at the moment," Hardy said.
"The Magpies girls have gone really well this year, there's been a lot of vast improvements in the Magpies team in the last 12 months, so there's a lot of rewards for those girls."
Hardy, who was the assistant coach for the women's Monaro team this year and will take over the head coach role in 2020, is pleased with the shape the squad has taken.
"Overall I think the squad is looking really good, the [Valley] Dragons have got a good influx," Hardy said.
"I'm excited to work with a lot of the girls I haven't had the opportunity to work with."
The Monaro women fell four points short of making the finals in this year's championships, for which Hardy is eager to make amends.
Magpies stalwart Hollie Massey is one of the ten who were selected for the squad, and she is "really excited" for the championships to roll around.
"It was really fun last year," she said.
"There's a lot of the same girls in the squad from last year, so hopefully we won't take as long to bond as a team."
In late 2018, six Magpies were named in the Monaro squad. The influx in numbers ahead of the 2020 tournament, Massey believes, is due to the team's success in the Katrina Fanning Shield.
"After our success, we got a lot of the girls to the [Monaro] trials, so that was good," Massey said.
"I think we should do really well, our local competition was heaps better this year so I think there's going to be some really talented players in the team."
The Magpies named in the Monaro Women's squad are: Hollie Massey, Sami Afele, Victoria Alley, Emily Banks, Gabby Davis, Taylah Frost, Tessa Peace, Lucy Prosser, Eilish Winbank, Shannon Wright.