Chloe Molloy and Jade Ellenger after the AFLW Preliminary Final between Brisbane and Adelaide at Brighton Homes Arena, November 23, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

SUPERSTAR Sydney forward Chloe Molloy lives in the harbour city.

Partner Jade Ellenger – a premiership star in her own right – plays and lives in Brisbane.

Long-distance, cross-state relationships are a quirk of the AFLW and add another rich layer to the culture and players who make up the game.

“Speaking from my end, football is football,” Molloy told AFL.com.au. 

“I’m very envious of her career, very jealous, so to say. But for me, it’s very separate. I’m so loyal towards the red and white, and she’s so loyal towards the Lions, that we don’t kind of mix work together.

“You talk about how you feel and what you’re going through, but I’ve made it very clear that there’s a line and I’m quite protective of the Swans, and she’s very protective of the Lions. 

“It’s enjoyable, watching your partner succeed. There is a part of me that finds it hard to celebrate in the success when we do compete with each other (across the wider competition), but at the end of the day, [while] I just want her to have a very successful career, I’m always going to want the Swans to come out on top and she’s always going to want the Lions.”

In their time as a couple, the pair have only played a practice match against each other earlier this year, with Molloy having been on limited minutes as she made her comeback from a torn ACL.

While the tyranny of distance applies – as well as difficulty finding time to be in the same state when both are involved in a competition that involves trips to the other side of the country – Facetime chats are plentiful, as well as the implicit understanding and support that comes from working the same job.

“We actually don’t talk too much football, because we’re both so competitive – I’m probably the more competitive one. I love watching her play and try to get to as many games as possible. But we’re very separate as to where our loyalties lie,” Molloy said.

“Having someone who is also going through it obviously comes with its difficulties as well, but just the understanding of what the game demands from us from a physical, emotional and mental level [and] being able to find common ground in that. 

“Then in what we both do, being able to admire how hard we both work to play football at the highest level and then also balance life outside of it. You definitely have an appreciation, because we have the same workplace, so to say, and our jobs are the same.

“I adore her more than anything, but we will compete. Once it’s game time, it’s game time, the emotion comes out of it.”

When it comes to being able to play in a Pride Round, Molloy said it was an opportunity to “be part of something bigger than yourself”.

“It’s about leaning into the platform we have as athletes, as queer athletes, as allies – to be able to put a spotlight on that community and really celebrate that humans are so diverse,” she said.

“Pride to me is the ability to think beyond kicking a football – if you put a human lens on it, a dominant spot like AFL/W, having a Pride Round makes so many people feel seen, and I think that’s really, really powerful. 

“You could change one person’s life. That’s the special part of football. The accolades, the medals, the stats, the goals, but to be able to change one person’s life or make them feel comfortable, or some people might have trauma going to sport, to be able to flip that narrative and say, ‘welcome to AFLW, we’ll make you feel safe’, I think that goes beyond the game we play.”