If the weekend's talent search is anything to go by, women's football is about to explode according to North AFLW senior coach Scott Gowans.

“The talent has just grown, it’s amazing,” he told North Media.

“When I first started, you were actually scratching around to fill two sides ... [now] it’s fantastic. What it shows is that in years to come, female footy is going to be really strong."

Gowans' comments came off the back of witnessing more than 100 hopefuls put their skills to the test for a VFLW Talent ID Day, hosted by North Melbourne and the Melbourne University Women’s Football Club (MUWFC).

He said coaches and staff were blown away by the level of competition.

“I had a moment where I commented to Dennis Armfield about how we were able to get 100 girls, with most that we’d be happy to take into our training squad," Gowans revealed.

“The pleasing thing for me, being my sixth year in female footy, is that it’s not just in the skills area.

“Players get where they’re supposed to keep their hands, how to draw the opponent in and all those little things that just weren’t there five or six years ago.”

With limited spots on the VFLW list available, Gowans knows he must be ruthless.

“There’s two elements to that, one is that we’re looking for who is going to make the actual squad," Gowans continued. 

"This includes our North players staying on the VFLW list, so the spots are limited as it is.

“Then we have the Melbourne Uni girls that we’re also trying to fit in as well. It can be really tight for spots. The other element is that you want to do the right thing by the people that are trialling.

“It’s good, but tough, it can be really difficult."

Flanked by assistants Dennis Armfield and Lauren Morecroft, Gowans knows exactly what he's looking for. His extensive background, passion and experience with women’s footy, including stints with Diamond Creek, Vic Country Youth Girls, Carlton and MUWFC is significant and almost unparalleled.

“Our list is going to be a little more creative. For that very reason, you’ve got to make sure your list has a good spread of positions," he said.

“I think last year was a bit more talent based, where we’d take the best available talent.

“This year it’s probably more targeted to the team and that goes along with the philosophy that last year was a development year. 

“It’s absolutely still a development program, but we want to win.”