The Essendon Football Club is proud to announce that AFLW senior coach Natalie Wood has been selected for the AFL’s Women’s Coach Acceleration Program (WCAP).

WCAP aims to fast-track the development of female coaches within the AFL and assist their progression through to senior coaching across AFL and AFLW programs.

Through her selection, Wood will have a formal mentorship with Essendon’s senior men’s coach Ben Rutten and will be immersed in the AFL program to experience a range of coaching settings, such as match day in the coaches’ box, game planning and match committee.

Another element of WCAP is that all participants will achieve the Level 3 AFL Coaching Accreditation at a minimum.

Earlier this year, Wood joined the Bombers from the Western Bulldogs where she has spent the past two years as an assistant midfield AFLW coach.

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'Competitive from the start': Wood shares AFLW vision

Inaugural Essendon AFLW coach Natalie Wood explains her journey, motivation to lead the Bombers, and her vision for the team.

Before moving to Whitten Oval, Wood gained experience in Geelong’s women's program for four years as an AFLW midfield coach and VFLW head coach.

Wood also had coaching success at an underage level, having been an assistant coach in the AFLW Under-18 All Stars match in 2017. She also served as an assistant coach with Vic Country in the AFL Women’s Under-18 National Championships in 2018.

Participating in WCAP alongside Wood is current Hawthorn AFLW coach Bec Goddard, current AFLW players Daisy Pearce, Erin Phillips and Alicia Eva, past player Emma Zielke and Collingwood’s VFLW coach Chloe McMillan.