The Glitter Strip outfit ultimately matched Adelaide\u2019s bid for the talented midfielder at pick No.4, having finished as the best and fairest runner-up at this year\u2019s AFL National Championships.<\/p>\n
Sunny was one of eight draftees to join the Suns\u2019 ranks \u2013 Ava Usher (No.7), Georja Davies (No.9), Alannah Welsh (No.12), Mikayla Nurse (No.13), Dekota Baron (No.15), Bronte Parker (No.32), and Rhianna Ingram (No.44) \u2013 all academy talents seeking to salvage a side that has claimed just three wins in the past two seasons.<\/p>\n
Those draftees have been the byproduct of a participation surge for Aussie rules in Queensland, with almost a quarter of this year\u2019s record total of 625,000 players nationally being girls and women \u2013 second behind Victoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were so many different things that went into my decision, seeing as it was probably the biggest decision I\u2019ll have to make in my life for a very long time. But ultimately, it came down to family and friends, and being able to stay home,\u201d Sunny said when asked why she settled on the Suns rather than one of her father\u2019s clubs.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo experience something so special to me, I think I needed to be somewhere I was comfortable, where I knew, and to be able to play with all the same girls I\u2019ve been playing with through the academy and junior footy. It\u2019s something not many other people get, and I wasn\u2019t going to let that go.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOf course, there were heartstrings that tied me there [to Matthew\u2019s clubs], and I have my own personal connection with them. But ultimately, I think I made the best decision for myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was never going to really make everybody happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meg, meanwhile, who was snaffled by the Brisbane Lions as pick No.54, became the first father-daughter pick in the club\u2019s history, arriving as a tall defender having plied her trade for the Geelong Falcons. Father Nigel is currently an assistant coach with the Geelong Cats.<\/p>\n
Meg will join a team eager to avenge their grand final heartache to the Kangaroos, the defeat making it their fifth loss from seven attempts at the same hurdle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Meg is around the ball, she displays great instincts for fighting through traffic and making good decisions,\u201d Lions AFLW list manager Michael Swann said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think she is going to develop really quickly as part of our system here at the Lions.\u201d<\/p>\n