AAA<\/p>\n
There are moments in sport that you know you\u2019ll remember forever. Not because of the scoreboard, but because you were fortunate enough to be there when something changed forever.<\/p>\n
Representing Australia in the first AFLW international match against Ireland<\/a> is one of those moments.<\/p>\n To pull on an Australian jumper alongside some of the best footballers our game has produced is something I\u2019ll never take for granted.<\/p>\n The football was always going to be exciting. Two proud sporting nations. Two different styles. Two teams desperate to create history. What I didn\u2019t expect was how much I\u2019d take away from everything that happened before the first ball was bounced.<\/p>\n Related Article Walking into camp on Thursday felt a little like the first day of school. You leave the comfort of your club, your routine and the teammates you\u2019ve built trust with over years, and step into a completely new environment.<\/p>\n You know everyone\u2019s name before you arrive. You\u2019ve watched them for years. You\u2019ve planned against them, competed against them and admired them. But suddenly you\u2019re all wearing the same colours, sitting in the same meeting room trying to work out where you fit.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve spent the better part of the past decade trying to stop players like Chloe Molloy from impacting games. I\u2019ve chased Courtney Hodder as she\u2019s burst away from contests, tried to limit the influence of Ella Roberts as she\u2019s taken games apart, and watched Monique Conti do things with a football that most players simply can\u2019t. For years, they\u2019ve been the opposition.<\/p>\n As footballers, we spend countless hours analysing one another. We know each other\u2019s strengths, we search for weaknesses and build game plans.You become so familiar with the player that it\u2019s easy to forget you don\u2019t actually know the person behind the footballer.<\/p>\n Then, almost overnight, those opponents become your teammates. For the first few hours, everyone naturally gravitates towards familiar faces. You sit with teammates from your own club, conversations are polite and there\u2019s a little uncertainty. It\u2019s not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar. On our first night together, Daisy Pearce took us through a connection activity. Every player shared a photo that represented an important part of their football journey and explained why it mattered. Within an hour, the room changed. You stopped seeing All-Australians, premiership players and rivals. You saw people. Stories of sacrifice, family, setbacks, resilience and opportunity quickly replaced club colours and old rivalries.<\/p>\n By the end of the evening, the laughter had become louder than the awkwardness. It no longer felt like 30 players from different AFLW clubs. It simply felt like Australia. That was probably the biggest surprise of the entire week.<\/p>\n I thought bringing together the best players in the country would be the hardest part. Every club has different systems, different terminology and different ways of doing things. We\u2019d spent years trying to outsmart one another.<\/p>\n Instead, everyone arrived with the same mindset. Early in the week, coach Darren Crocker left us with a message that stayed with me: \u201cLet\u2019s be remembered as great teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t about who kicked the most goals, won the most possessions or took the best mark. I think that says everything about where AFLW is today.<\/a> The standard of football is incredibly high, but the quality of the people might be even higher. Having Darren Crocker and Daisy Pearce leading the program made that transition feel seamless. There was never any panic about trying to fast-track chemistry. They trusted that if you put good people together with a shared purpose, the football would take care of itself. And they were right.<\/p>\n Related Article There was another moment during the week that gave all of us a little more perspective. Like many of us, I\u2019d always thought this was the first time Australian women had represented their country against Ireland. It wasn\u2019t until we came together that I learned about the remarkable group of women who had organised an Australian team back in 2006.<\/p>\n Long before AFLW existed, before professional contracts and the support systems we now have, they made the tour happen off their own backs simply because they wanted the chance to represent Australia. To have Pearce, who played in that team, standing in front of us as one of our coaches, along with pioneer Debbie Lee, was a powerful reminder that while we were creating history, we were also continuing a legacy built by women who came before us.<\/p>\n Walking into North Sydney Oval and seeing thousands of people there to witness this moment gave me goosebumps. <\/p>\n Standing shoulder to shoulder during the national anthem, hearing it echo around a packed North Sydney Oval, it wasn\u2019t just a feeling of pride. It was perspective. We weren\u2019t only representing ourselves or our clubs. We were representing every AFLW player who had helped grow our game to a point where this occasion was possible.<\/p>\n The Irish played exactly how we\u2019d expected \u2014 passionate, fearless, physical and relentlessly competitive. They challenged every contest and embraced the occasion. It made the experience even more special because both teams knew they were creating something much bigger than themselves.<\/p>\n With the AFLW season just around the corner, there was naturally some outside curiosity about whether players would hold back. From the first contest, that question disappeared. The intensity was like a final. Bodies hitting each other with no fear of injury.<\/p>\n Years from now, people will remember the result. They\u2019ll remember who won, who kicked I\u2019ll remember something different: sitting beside players I\u2019d spent years trying to beat and realising how quickly rivalry disappears when everyone is chasing the same purpose. I\u2019ll remember the conversations over breakfast, the laughter on the bus and friendships formed in just a few days.<\/p>\n If this week proved anything, it\u2019s that representative football has a place in the AFLW calendar. Whether it\u2019s this format or something that grows into a regular series, I\u2019d love to see more opportunities for players to wear the green and gold. It celebrates our game, honours those who came before us and gives the next generation something even bigger to aspire to.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s back to club land to take on season 11.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/73c7cb37492fe70410ccd260074a3bb3655bdcef.jpeg\")
The victorious Australian team.AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Breanna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785645911_814_2443b4ee60e8a0f33246cf11f162f925d1688714.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Courtney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/73f1b20f960f3a8c4debd3936e33af130c2d5ecc.jpeg\")
Courtney Hodder during the celebrations. AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
That changed quickly.<\/p>\n![\"Australia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f304c032add5ebb731ad35a99e0b196599b0b4ac.jpeg\")
Australia coaches Darren Crocker and Daisy Pearce. AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Libby](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/aaafbf5c3335f5af37650918ad8d5695fd35015c.jpeg\")
Libby Birch tackles Aine McDonagh.Getty Images<\/p>\n
It was about the impact we\u2019d have on each other. There were no egos, no concern about individual accolades and no sense of club rivalries beneath the surface. Everyone wanted the same thing \u2014 to connect quickly, learn from one another and represent Australia in a way that honoured the jumper.<\/p>\n![\"Sophie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b6506d96146b2c9cdb87c0bbfbcd136f98160b92d41a21f378c8ec8868e14e32.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/81742f573971c85e48d8cabf4436d59682e496f8.jpeg\")
Australian Chelsea Biddell tackles Ireland\u2019s Aishling Moloney.Getty Images<\/p>\n
the first goal and who captained the first Australian team.<\/p>\n