THIS year has been one of firsts for Eleanor Hartill. Her first playing for Brisbane. Her first finals series.
Her first season without also managing a job outside footy. And she's thriving as a result. After two seasons and 16 games with West Coast, Hartill made the shift to Australia's opposing coast to join reigning premier Brisbane.
Now, she has played every game of the season to date as a crucial addition to the ruck and forward line, supporting the likes of Tahlia Hickie, Taylor Smith and Dakota Davidson. "This is my first year not working as well as footy. Since I moved to Queensland, I was like 'You know what? I'm moving across the country, I want to give it the biggest crack I can possibly give it'," Hartill told AFL.
com.au . "Now that I've got the spare time on my hands, it's really fun to try new things and see what else I'm passionate about outside of footy to fully fill your cup away from the club, and getting that time to relax and debrief.
" Bonnie Toogood returns to preview two massive Preliminary Finals With an undergraduate degree in health science, and a Masters in human resources and employment relations, the 24-year-old has always balanced a day job in corporate HR with her sporting career. The form her sporting career has taken has changed significantly, however. Initially a basketballer, she played in the NBL1 league for the Joondalup Wolves and Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
In similar fashion to many other cross-coders in the AFLW, it was a friend who convinc.