Ally Morphett’s sporting career started with a two-dollar coin in a plastic bag.

She grew up on a couple of acres on her family’s property in Gumly Gumly, about five kilometres out of the regional NSW town of Wagga Wagga.

Horse riding runs in the Morphett family. Ally’s Dad and her Grandfathers on both sides competed in harness racing, riding trotters around the track.

At a young age, the girls weren’t allowed to join in, but devised a plan to get in on the action.

“We used to have this little plastic bag that we hung up inside the pantry, I still remember the first two-dollar coin that went into the bag,” Morphett recalled.

Every spare bit of pocket money was added to the bag, and Morphett and her sister Peyton eventually saved up enough to buy their own pony.

Over the years they progressed through pony club, before following in the family footsteps and having a crack at barrel racing.

Barrel racing is an event in which the horse and rider attempt to run a pattern around set barrels in the fastest time possible, usually about 16-17 seconds.

As Morphett describes it, “You just get this massive adrenaline rush, but it’s very dangerous, one step goes wrong and it could turn into a tragic accident.”

At the age of 15, Morphett started playing footy with the Murray Bushrangers. Standing at 188cm, playing in the ruck was the natural choice.

Long hours on the road over many years would prepare Morphett for her eventual move to Sydney with the GIANTS.

You can hear the emotion in her voice when she talks about the sacrifices her parents have made over the years.

“We would have to get up early in the morning, drive six hours, play footy, drive six hours home and get back really late in the night,” reflects Morphett.

Quick to pick up the game, the tall ruck was on the GIANTS’ radar from early in the piece.

With a passion for both footy and horse riding, the time came where a decision had to be made about which one to pursue.

“It was really hard for me,” Morphett confessed.

“I loved both football and horse riding, but I saw myself playing football for the next couple of years.

“That transition really helped me to realise my dream, and think that if I want  to play AFLW I’m obviously going to have to move away from home.”

Morphett was selected as the GIANTS’ first pick in the 2021 Draft and has thrived in her new environment in Sydney, five hours away from her home in Gumly.

Teammate and fellow ‘country kid’ Alyce Parker has loved the chance to take Morphett under her wing.

“I just love being around her, and she’s just this big kid that enjoys life and whatever is in front of her,” said Parker.

“I kind of wish that I got drafted with her, cause I reckon she would have just balanced me out.”

While they both shared similar childhood experiences, Paker’s lead up into the draft differed significantly.

“I had a lot of anxiety about leaving home, and wasn’t sure if footy was what I wanted to do,” she said.

Parker grew up on a sheep and crop farm in Holbrook, NSW, on a farm that has been in the family for multiple generations.

You can feel a real sense of peace when she talks about home.

“I just loved my entire experience and childhood on the farm,” Parker says.  

The 21-year-old is often considered wise beyond her years. She credits this maturity to her home town, and to her family upbringing.

"Growing up on the farm, you tend to mature a lot earlier, and you develop this perspective of life.”

Both Parker and Morphett quickly realised the different approaches of people who have grown up in the city.

“Talking to people in the city who don't have a very in-depth idea of production and the fact that the world is always going to need food, I’m blessed having that experience so young,” said Parker.

Parker started kicking the footy with her Dad as soon as she could walk, watching the Richmond Tigers at any possible chance on a Friday or Saturday night on the television.

It wasn’t until she was 12 years old that she had her first proper game of footy.

“I was just kicking the footy and my primary school teacher tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to play with the boys,” she recalls.

“I said ‘no way’ for about two weeks - I was too scared.

“They eventually convinced me and of course I was the only girl in the team back then.”

It was fortunate timing for the kid who already had a natural talent for the game.

The school girl system took off when Parker entered high school, and she swiftly progressed her way through the representative levels.

She was named two-time Under-18 All Australian as a junior, and started to realise about two years out from the Draft what playing AFLW would mean.

“I needed to be convinced. Not one part of me wanted to move to Sydney, but there was a big part of me that wanted to play footy,” Parker said.

Selected at pick 12 for the GIANTS in the 2018 draft, the move to Sydney wasn’t as smooth as it was for Parker’s young mentee Morphett.

Moving into a high-rise apartment, for a kid who had grown up in the country, felt like a horrible form of hotel quarantine.

Heading into her fourth year of AFLW, Parker can now look back with some perspective on why she found the move so hard in the early days.

“I compared Sydney to home way too much,” she said.

“Sydney is never going to be a farm with sheep and crop everywhere I look, Sydney is never going to have my family here.”

Once Parker realised that Sydney wasn’t a replacement for ‘home’, but a place that allowed her to follow her dreams of playing footy, it all changed.

Parker’s footy continues to go from strength to strength. In 2021, she was named in the All-Australian team for the second year in a row.

Off the field, she continues to learn more about herself, with her new housemate – Morphett - constantly surprising her with lessons about life.

“Every now and again you need to be reminded to just enjoy the moment, which Ally instills in me a lot,” Parker said.

Morpehtt couldn’t speak more highly of her mate ‘Parks’.

“I love to just watch her in training and meetings, she’s always on song, she’s always willing and wanting to learn,” said Morphett.

The GIANTS' AFLW season kicks off on Sunday 9 January, with the GIANTS facing off against the Gold Coast Suns in Mackay.