Pick 101 to the West Coast Eagles
October 23, 2019 - AFLW Draft Day.
“Pick 101 to the West Coast Eagles.”
That pick was me, but you’d be hard pressed to guess the story that came with it. At the time I was 33 years old, married, had a full-time job, was a recent home owner, based in Melbourne, and a cross-coder with less than three years’ experience playing VFLW football. It was hardly the typical CV for an AFLW draftee, but that’s really only the face of the story.
As my 2019 VFLW season with Hawthorn Football Club drew to a close I was approached by the West Coast Eagles to consider a move across to Perth for their inaugural AFLW season. My immediate reaction was no; I barely entertained the idea to be honest. I’d spent much of my adult life living out of bags and away from home chasing a professional basketball career. I’d also spent the last five years building a corporate career in sports marketing with a creative and entertainment company called KOJO and we’d just been awarded the contract to deliver the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup and Cricket Australia’s International Cricket program, both to be held across the upcoming summer - and both the biggest gigs of my career.
But curiosity got the better of me and after many conversations with Head of Female Football Adam Selwood I decided to visit the home of the Eagles off the back of a work trip over to Perth. The connection was immediate; I saw their vision, values and the opportunity that lay ahead for me.
For those that know me, I have always taken on challenges, I never shy away from them and I have a bit of an uncanny ability to juggle various things. However, this was next level, even for me, and I wasn’t quite sure how I’d make it work. But something within me said I had to give it a go. So I laid it all out on the table for Adam and the club. My situation is what it was and at that point I wasn’t willing to give up anything. I’d worked really hard to get to this point in my corporate career and I had to fulfil those commitments. After conversations with KOJO, where they outlined their commitment to be flexible and supportive of this venture, it was up to West Coast to make the call. Before I could blink I was taken at pick 101 in the draft, which signified the club’s unwavering belief in me and commitment to provide me with a unique setup to make my contract and position within the team work.
I flew in and out constantly throughout pre-season; I had remote programs to keep up my strength and conditioning; and had local support in Melbourne from former AFLM Eagle Sam Butler to keep my skills up. When I traveled for work, to all sorts of venues preparing to deliver a summer of cricket for Aussie fans, I’d find the nearest gym and local ovals to get my sessions in before the day began.
It was certainly different, perhaps not ideal, and I don’t think the AFL or many sporting teams would provide setups like this, but the girls and the club embraced me from day one and made me feel like I had been there for years. For an inaugural team and group of people coming together for the first time, it felt like the culture had been built for years on end - something obviously strongly driven by their leadership and the club’s overarching culture. But it was immediately embraced by our group. It was special, but I didn’t know how special till what came next.
My best friend and role model
There was one more challenge that I had laid on the table for Adam and the Eagles before being drafted. My best friend, my role model and the person that has shaped me inside and out to who I am today was terminally ill. My mum. Mum was fighting stage four metastatic breast cancer. She was first diagnosed just after my wedding in 2016 and although she beat it the first time, we received the news that it had re-appeared and spread at the beginning of 2019. When you fight cancer once with a loved one you live in a sense of denial that they will beat it again. Well, at least I did. And as the story goes for many as time progressed, Mum regressed. Just prior to the draft, I was up at The Gabba working on the first test match for the Australian Men's Cricket Team when I received a call that Mum had been taken to emergency and they had found a brain tumour. They managed to relieve the pain and ease the swelling, but from there the news was grim. With the draft days away, it was an incredibly tough decision to leave my family and move to Perth, but Mum supported my every move, determined not to let her health stop my life.
With the club’s support, I returned home for an extended Christmas break and spent every moment with Mum and our family, treasuring every second we had together. I continued to fly in and out for work and make sure I got as many hugs in with Mum as I could. After returning back to Perth for our last leg of pre-season, I received news that Mum had really taken a downhill turn. She was moved to palliative care and I faced an excruciating decision of what to do.
I managed a quick trip back that coupled up with our first pre-season game against the Tigers and then we returned back for round one at Victoria Park to face the Pies for my debut AFLW game. Every day was tough. I had incredible support around me from all the girls and the club. I was juggling work, training and the pain of being away from my family. Mum knew round one was coming up and the club had organised a special dinner on the eve of our first game for all the East Coast parents to meet the coaches, support staff and management. Mum loved a function; she was a social butterfly and loved to get dressed up for any occasion, so she was determined to make it to this event.
“Until now I never knew how much you can gather strength from those around you.”
We had moved Mum back home at this point; she was now barely able to walk without help and was heavily medicated on painkillers to help the immense pain I know she must have been fighting. Mum is super stubborn (clearly where I get it from) and refused to be taken in a wheelchair to attend this special function. So, with the help of my husband Adrian, she willed her way to walking into the dinner and enjoyed an incredible night where she was spoiled and loved by my new community.
And that’s exactly what it was - a community. I’ve been fortunate to have been a part of so many different teams, clubs and workplaces throughout my journey and at the tail end of my sporting career I now realise that what I chased and craved wasn’t success on the court or field, it was simply being part of these wonderful groups of people. Until now I never knew how much you can gather strength from those around you.
After making my debut and spending Mum’s final week by her bedside, I made one last dash back to Perth to play in the first ever Western AFLW Derby at Optus Stadium. I’d spent countless hours working for KOJO at this venue delivering sporting events, so to play on that turf was something I’ll never forget and something Mum had been keen to see since the fixture was announced. In spite of being incredibly ill at this stage, she managed to hang on to witness the game, albeit unresponsive. My sister made sure the game was on the TV next to her and I know she knew I was playing. After I jumped on a red eye flight to return back to Mum’s side, she passed away.
More than a game
The Eagles and so many communities that I had been a part of picked me up, surrounded me and nurtured me through every step of the days, weeks and months ahead. In the days following the funeral I was back on the field and I continued to play the AFLW season out and still managed to deliver the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup for KOJO, including an unforgettable final in front of a record-breaking crowd for a women’s sporting event in Australia.
As I embark on my second AFLW season with the West Coast Eagles and continue to work at KOJO, I look back and am incredibly thankful for being part of so many strong communities that embraced me so unconditionally.
This story is two-fold; It’s the first time I’ve really spoken openly about my mum and while it is still so raw and emotional I feel like there are many other people out there supporting loved ones in difficult times who may be able to draw strength from my experience.
Secondly, I wanted to share this story because I strongly believe that while we are growing women’s sport into a full time profession we collectively need to continue to embrace women and their situations.
I truly believe life took me on this course for a reason. I have been connected with so many wonderful people who are passionate about influencing and driving change for the benefit of others.
I hope that my story proves, to both corporate and sporting organisations, what women can do when provided with an opportunity and how their actions have the ability to continue to grow women’s sport.
