“I’m very excited and very grateful for the opportunity,” she said. Her move north is only a matter of days away. In 2021, “Perko”, who has played 20 AFLW games across four seasons, will bring much-needed experience and goalkicking prowess to the Suns’ young list and she’s looking forward to being reunited with fellow former Crow, Sally Riley. She played three games in the red and blue before COVID shutdown the season.ĭuring Melbourne’s COVID lockdown – and the cancellation of the VFLW season in which she was meant to play with Hawthorn – Perkins kept up a five-day-a-week fitness regimen that included swimming (when pools were open) and running she’s run two 10kms this year. That regained self-belief shone through when she was asked by Melbourne to join the Demons as a top-up player in early 2020 when the club's list was decimated by injury. “I’ve been chatting to her ever since,” Perkins says, “just bringing back my self-confidence … focusing on why I started playing and to be grateful every time I ran out.”
So the most important thing Perkins did on return to Melbourne was to see a sports psychologist, who helped her deal with the self-doubt that had crept in while she struggled to stay in the Crows best 21. Sarah Jerkins was a fan favourite at the Crows.Īt this point, she’d fallen out of love with football.
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In 2016 after being overlooked by the Victorian clubs in the inaugural AFLW draft (despite kicking 52 goals in a season for the Eastern Devils and gaining fitness by losing 40kg), she moved to Adelaide when the Crows picked her up as a free agent. While the prospect of 14 days in hotel quarantine before pre-season starts on November 4 has her nervous, Perkins is no stranger to moving states for football. “To know my dream was still alive, I was really proud of myself … to be able to give myself that opportunity through hard work with the support of my family and friends,” she said. 23 overall, one of eight players picked up by the Suns. It paid off when Perkins was drafted by Gold Coast with their second pick at last Tuesday’s night AFLW draft at No. “I decided to keep focusing on me and my health and my fitness.” “I was pretty upset after last year’s draft when my name wasn’t read out … but I had a few messages from people who told me to keep going, keep working and it will happen,” the 27-year-old says. There’s more to this cult hero’s story.ĮVERY PICK: SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EVERY PLAYER TAKEN IN THE AFLW DRAFT Sarah Perkins isn’t going to lie: after being delisted by the Crows in 2019 and then overlooked in the draft only months later, there were moments she thought her AFLW journey was over.īack in her Melbourne hometown, the big-kicking forward had fallen out of love with football and was not sure what the future held.īut not so fast.