What do you do if you have an exceptional group of midfield talent, both experienced and youthful, competing for time on the ball ahead of a brand new AFLW season?
If you’re Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker, you throw one of the greatest midfielders in the competition's short history into defence.
After five All-Australian selections, a best and fairest nod in a premiership year at the Western Bulldogs, and three consecutive runner-up finishes in the Kangaroos’ best and fairest as a midfielder, Emma Kearney has thrived in her new role bombing off the half-back flank. The skipper has a new lease on life in football and North’s midfield looks as strong as ever.
Kearney is averaging 18 disposals (5.6 contested) at over 80 per cent efficiency per game across her five appearances this season, while her new role has seen her average a team-high 6.4 intercepts per contest this year. Her elite decision making and intelligent ball-use, two of the strongest parts of her game, are being better utilised than ever before. Those, coupled with her rapid acceleration and sharp change of direction, have made her a lethal force in the back half of the ground.
While her performances have been, for the most part, exceptional this season, she says not everything was plain sailing when she first started learning the position.
“I suppose initially when I got told I’d be playing in the back line I was a little sceptical, and there were times where I totally doubted myself and my ability to play in that position,” Kearney told North Media.
“I kept sticking to the feedback the coaches were giving me, I practiced matching up on our best forwards both at training.
“There are times where I miss the midfield, especially the physicality side of things, but I think it’s been a really good development for my football. I’ve played in the midfield my whole life, so to now be able to play in the back line and learn a new craft has been a really enjoyable challenge."
Kearney and her fellow defenders faced a potential banana skin on the weekend in the form of a free-flowing Richmond side that contained on of the most skilled forwards in the competition, Katie Brennan.
While they may be winless since Round 1, the Tigers had registered the two largest losing scores of the season as the competition entered Round 6.
Kearney and company kept Richmond to just 18 points, however it was the physicality of the game that kept on-lookers talking until well after the final siren. Some contests between Kearney and Brennan in particular showcased the physical side of the game Kearney said she’s been missing in the midfield.
“There’s always going to be a little bit of ‘argy-bargy’,” Kearney said.
“It’s a contact sport. There are always going to be some tackles you feel are a bit rough or unecessary, but at the end of the day if there’s a bit of physicality you have to manage it.
"Katie is one of the best forwards in the competition and her ability to get up and down the ground is next level. When it was my chance to defend her I just wanted to make as big a challenge as I possibly could. I’ve had to work really hard on the defensive part of my game.
"Tempers might have flared a little bit and, to be honest, I was probably one of the players who had a bit of a hot head, because I usually play my best when I’m a bit on the edge. If teams are willing to fire me up like that then go for it.”
