IT was a dream come true for Limestone Coast footballer Jess Allan on Wednesday, when the teenager was drafted to the Adelaide Crows for the upcoming AFLW football season.
Allan was the Crows’ first pick in the national draft and will now join her sister Sarah in the premiership-winning roster.
Allan said she was “pretty honoured” to go as the Crows’ top pick, but was still coming to terms with the reality of the situation.
“I haven’t slept since it happened,” she said.
“My phone has been blowing up with everyone sending me messages.
“The support is just crazy.
“It has been a bit surreal the last couple of days, a bit like Christmas.”
But it was not by mistake that Allan was given the nod.
Her work ethic over recent Under 18 and women’s seasons in Adelaide and representing South Australia did not go unnoticed by the Crows.
But now the game has changed, with the serious side of the sport set to kick off.
“Pre-season starts in about a month,” Allan said.
“I will be moving to Adelaide, living with Sarah and training with the club.
“It will be a big couple of months to start with, but I am really looking forward to it.”
Allan said it would be good to have her sister so close as she enters the top level of women’s football in the country.
“It will be great to have Sarah there through the whole ride,” she said.
“She has been through it already, so she has lots of advice.
“It also makes it a bit more comfortable to move into.”
To be drafted into the premiership-winning side comes with its own added pressure, with Allan aware of what she needs to do now to ensure a regular spot on the ground.
“There will be a bit of pressure to make the 22 each week once the season starts, so I will need to put a little bit more work in for the pre-season to make the team,” she said.
“Obviously the Crows have their main ruck in (Rhiannon) Metcalfe, so I will be fighting for a position each week.
“Being AFLW, the standard will lift again from what I have been playing at the women’s level.
“It will definitely be a bigger challenge, but you just have to adjust to the situation.
“It is harder, but if you put in the hard work you will get there.”
Allan said the pathway for women in the game was now much better than it had been when she was playing as a youngster.
She said the hard work she put in as a result has helped her achieve her goals so far.
“There wasn’t much of a pathway when I was coming through,” she said.
“I had to do a lot more individual stuff with dad, plus going out and training with the Hatherleigh seniors.
“There were a lot of things I have had to do differently than the girls who are up in Adelaide, but I think it made me work a bit harder.
“To be drafted to the Crows is literally a dream come true.”
