For three of our youngest GIANTS, the focus has turned well and truly to footy following the completion of their HSC exams last week.

For the first two months of pre-season, and their first two months of training in an AFLW environment, Georgie Fowler, Jess Doyle and Isadora McLeay have balanced the most crucial period of their 13-year schooling career whilst wanting to put their best foot forward as an AFLW player.

All three have praised the support of the club during this time, especially AFLW Welfare Manager Gail Wykes and Head Coach Alan McConnell.

While the support was there for the girls to drill in on their study, there was no holding them back from coming into the club.

“It was sometimes hard to balance both, but I love footy so it was worth it,” said Doyle.

“Every time I got to the club it was good to get a break and focus on something else.”

Both McLeay and Fowler echoed the same sentiments. Fowler said she got FOMO while McLeay said coming to training was a breath of fresh air and calming environment.

In terms of application to study verse training, we’ll let the results speak for themselves.

However, it was a unanimous vote between the three for who best applied themselves to study, with Fowler taking the chocolates.

While the focus is well and truly on footy, the girls have a clear vision on what’s next away from the footy field. And it’s probably not surprising that it involves sport.

For Fowler, she’s looking to head down the path of Sport Science or Exercise Physiology, while Doyle and McLeay are looking to study a degree in Sports Business Management.

The girls are about to enter their 10th week of pre-season training and with the fixture now in a place, the prospect of a potential AFLW debut is becoming more real for not only these three but nine of the 2022 group.

Round one of the competition will kick off on Friday, January 7, with the GIANTS set to begin their campaign on Sunday, January 9 in Mackay.