Clare Lawton had never played in the backline before. So it’s fair to say she was a tad surprised when the GIANTS coaching staff placed her down the defensive end at last weekend’s practice match against the Brisbane Lions.
To add to her surprise, Lawton lined up against one of the best forwards in the competition, Brisbane Marquee Player Sabrina Frederick-Traub.
Frederick-Traub is known for her strong overhead mark and goal kicking abilities. However, Lawton didn’t let Frederick-Taub’s reputation daunt her.
“I was a little bit intimidated at first, but as soon as I lined up against her I thought, ‘it’s just footy.’ I’m here to do whatever job the coaching staff or the team needs me to do. So I just went out there and played my style of footy and had a bit of fun.”
The move down back turned out to be an inspired decision by the coaching team with Lawton limiting the tall forward to just one goal. Lawton was named as one of the GIANTS’ best on ground.
“I think I surprised myself how much I enjoyed it. I’ve usually played as a key forward, but I loved the physicality of the backline. You have to work as such a tight-knit unit. It was obvious the girls were really close and knew one another’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Despite Lawton’s efforts, the GIANTS’ women’s side went down to the Lions by 16-points, however Lawton believes that the game was a great learning curve for the team.
“Every team we play this season will be new and they will all have their strengths and weaknesses. There are strong players from every state, but no one has played one another before except for in the odd exhibition match. This is the best of the best. It will be a bit of an adjustment period for the girls, but I think the trial game definitely helped.”
The trip was also an opportunity for the girls to get used to travelling interstate with the GIANTS playing away on four occasions in the inaugural season.
“This is the first trip away for us as a group so it was a good opportunity to figure out what worked and what didn’t. It was definitely a trial run. For example girls worked out whether they liked to wear skins or shorts on the plane, what and how much they should eat on game day, and the timelines leading up to the match.”
The GIANTS’ next game will be round one of the NAB AFL Women’s competition when they play Adelaide at Thebarton Oval on February 4. The game begins at 5:05pm EDST with live coverage on Fox Footy.
Phoebe McWilliams will be bringing GIANTS fans a behind-the-scenes insight into the GIANTS' AFL Women's team with interviews and articles across the 2016/2017 season. Phoebe is a Victorian priority player selection for the GIANTS' AFLW team and also has a background in Media and Communications.
