COLLINGWOOD has appointed two-time netball premiership coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson as head of its women's sports program, including its AFL Women's team.
Woodlands-Thompson won premierships with the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the national netball competition in 2010 and 2013.
She was the general manager of high performance for Netball South Australia from 2007-15 and has also had experience in football.
Woodlands-Thompson is a member of South Australia's Football Commission and the AFL Women's football advisory group, which provided input to the AFL while the AFLW competition was being planned.
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The newly-created role at Collingwood will see Woodlands-Thompson overseeing the club's women's program, which includes AFLW, VFLW, Super Netball (national competition) and Australian Netball League (second-tier feeder competition) teams.
"This position will give me the opportunity to work closely with Collingwood's elite female athletes and help them become leaders in netball and women's football," Woodlands-Thompson said.
"The women's program at Collingwood is still in its infancy. While the foundations for a truly remarkable high-performance environment are in place, the possibilities and potential for the creation of something special in Australian sport are there to be seized.
"We want to ensure Collingwood is a destination club on and off the court and field, for athletes, coaches and high-performance professionals."
Collingwood CEO Mark Anderson said the role was a critical one.
"Jane will play a key role in ensuring we have quality high-performance plans across our women's teams and that these are implemented in a way which benefits Collingwood and each of our teams," Anderson said.
"This is an appointment that is expected to be far-reaching and strategic, setting elite standards for today while preparing for the challenges and opportunities of a modern club. For all of these reasons, Jane is a wonderful acquisition."