team\u2019s new captain Ruby Schleicher<\/a>, describing the dual All-Australian as the perfect leader who strikes the balance between having fun and being professional.<\/p>\n\u201cI say this in a humble way, there\u2019s obviously a lot of attention on the first couple of picks in the draft, because you\u2019re expected to go out there and obviously try and change the game in some aspects,\u201d Centra said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRuby\u2019s been a massive mentor for me. She\u2019s guided me, and she\u2019s just super inclusive and super approachable when I need help, not only on the field but off the field as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week Schleicher told this masthead rookies and top draft picks such as Centra were coming into AFLW with more pressure and noise than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo within the four walls and as a leader, it\u2019s probably just my job to try and release that pressure and let them know that we don\u2019t need them to go out have 30 disposals and change the game,\u201d Schleicher said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to see them grow as players and enjoy their football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Centra models her game off Richmond best-and-fairest winner Monique Conti, adhering to a silky and versatile style of footy. However, the physical nature of AFLW has been a surprising adjustment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came in on the first day of pre-season, and Britt Bonnici tackled me, and I was so taken back and shocked [by] how hard they hit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think it really helps you understand where you\u2019re at and it helps you build that level of physicality. And I also think the speed of the game is so much different to what I\u2019m used to, but it\u2019s been a great challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Centra is also adjusting to the recent move to Melbourne and is currently living with family friends. The 19-year-old was born metres from the beach and misses swimming in the ocean, joking Melbourne\u2019s city beaches aren\u2019t quite the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a lot different to what I\u2019m used to. I know country life and city life are polar opposites … so it\u2019s been an adjustment,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Seaspray there\u2019s only like 300 residents, so everything\u2019s slow,\u201d she continued. \u201cNothing\u2019s really happening. We\u2019ve got one coffee shop, and then you come to Melbourne and there\u2019s like, 50 coffee shops metres from your house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Centra was looking forward to taking on Hawthorn at Victoria Park on Saturday in front of her family and friends, including her brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s coming this weekend, so hopefully I\u2019ll kick him a goal that he\u2019ll see,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size Ash Centra had no idea she\u2019d gone viral. The 19-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-153326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Collingwood\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/54715250e51fd0e9364673fed03e7184ffd7954a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Centra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/b453ea21741f7e6b0b416e30cb8f71705e3e9345.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n