IN her first year playing senior football Ellie Priest proved why she is one of the top Aussie Rules products on the South Coast.
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The Bomaderry Tigers junior this year made the jump to senior action, playing for the Wollongong Saints Women's Australian Football Club in the AFL Sydney women’s division one competition.
“Dad knew some people at the club and organised for me to do a trial,” Priest said.
“I was actually too young to play this year in the seniors competition but they liked how I trailed and put a request for dispensation into the AFL for me to play up.
“The AFL gave me approval to play and the Saints signed me up, which was really exciting.”
Priest and her team had a strong year on the field, losing only two games all season – in the final round and the grand final – both to UTS.
“We had a few key players out in the two previous games against UTS when they beat us, so we thought we had a chance,” she said.
“We really should have won, as we missed a goal right in front in the second quarter, which was a bit of a downer for us and they lifted.
“I was very nervous and it took me a while to get into the game.
“But I felt like I had a good second half.
“I'm a defender and we were really under pressure late in the game, which was amazing.
“There was a pretty big crowd at Blacktown Stadium, which is an awesome place to play.
“We lost our ruckman and a rover in the first few minutes of extra-time and they just got over the top of us in the midfield.”
Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Cambewarra product knows it will only make her stronger, as she sets out about making a career in Aussie Rules.
“In my first year playing senior footy, the big difference is the professionalism and experience of the players,” she said.
“Some of the girls in the side are amazing and really put hard work into their footy.
“I also got confidence that I can match it at that level.
“I played most games and even went into the middle quite often, which was a good challenge for me.
“I had a good year but I know I can really improve.
“The main thing is I need to get much fitter, working hard on my skills with the ball and increase my ability to play at a high intensity for four quarters.”
Even though her Saints season is over until 2017, Priest’s workload doesn’t slow down.
“I just got back from representing Illawarra/South Coast/ACT at the youth girls state cup, where I was the runner-up in the best and fairest behind Sapphire Coast’s Tarni Evans,” she said.
“I've also been asked to trial for the GSW Giants academy for next year. I really want to get into that because that's the main pathway to the new women's AFL competition, which is my long term goal.
“On top of that we're really keen to get the flag next year at the Saints.”