By Hayley Wildes
It was wet. It was tough. It was a slog. And we wouldn’t have had it any other way.
All season long there had been countless obstacles in our way, but we had yet to play in the rain. Why not one final hurdle to truly test ourselves and our resolve?
Before the game, there was a sense of calm amongst the group; knowing what we needed to do and having confidence in our game plan and every player that was about to pull on the red, white and blue.
In the early going, the Lions were able to strike first through Sophie Conway. Whilst we had some attacking forays, we were unable to translate that good work into goals.
With Brisbane leading 1.1 (7) to 0.1 (1) at halftime, we felt that they were playing their best footy and we could switch some things up that would help us play to our strengths and match them.
Once again, there wasn’t any panic.
With the rain having passed, the game started to open up and flow a bit more in the third quarter. When Deanna Berry kicked a ripper from 50m out on the run, and Kirsten McLeod – Tyabb local and a player who I’ve had the pleasure of playing with at Cranbourne for six seasons – got on the end of one and slotted it through, we’d gained a seven point lead.
Just prior to three-quarter time, Kirsten laid a pivotal forward-line tackle, leading to the ball dribbling out to Monique Conti who kicked truly and had us 13 points up at three-quarter time.
All season long it had been about focusing on the next 18 minutes of game time – doing your role in the upcoming quarter. With just one 18 minute period to go in the season, we all knew how important it was and the reward that was on offer.
To Brisbane’s credit, they came again – as we knew they would. It was a tense last quarter, a back and forth battle that required everyone to step up.
Ellie Blackburn – a name very familiar to football followers in the South East – and Emma Kearney, along with Monique stood up, as did every other player on the team.
When Emma kicked her first goal for the game from a 30m set shot after running down Brisbane speedster Kaitlyn Ashmore, it was a 12-point buffer with five minutes remaining.
The Lions once again lifted.
A behind, followed by a Jess Wuetschner goal for the Lions saw the lead diminish to just five points with three minutes remaining.
A thrilling final three minutes saw us score a behind and then a Naomi Ferres mark deep in the Lions forward fifty in the dying seconds sealed us the win, 4.3 (27) to 3.3 (21).
We’d done it. We were the 2018 AFLW Premiers.
The emotions of the season, the week and the day all culminated for me personally when that siren went. Sharing that moment with a group of people who have all worked so hard together since day one of preseason was truly a special moment.
A Premiership was far from our minds in the final game of last season as we battled it out against GWS to avoid the wooden spoon – a game we won and in doing so, avoided the dreaded spoon.
The journey since then is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
The hard work and commitment from the players, coaches, staff and the support from the entire Western Bulldogs Football Club ultimately resulted in a Premiership.
The leaders; led by coach Paul Groves – who has done a mountain of work in turning around the program and allowing each and every player to be the best they can possibly be – have been massive all season long.
On-field, running out behind Katie Brennan and Ellie Blackburn makes the entire group walk taller. I have no doubt that the challenges along the way only made us stronger and more united.
After the game, sharing the moment with family and friends added to the excitement of it all.
We all soaked up the lap of honour. Seeing familiar faces in the crowd and faces that are just so happy and proud of what the group had achieved really drove home how much it meant to so many people. The Bulldog faithful have been behind us since day one and seeing the pure joy the win brought them was just unreal and extremely rewarding. With family and friends filling the rooms, the memories created in those moments will stay with everyone for a very long time.
I don’t think the win has fully sunk in yet – it may take quite some time. The medal and cup sure do help with that though…
