Kate Shierlaw was living on the other side of the world and hanging out on hardwood courts before even considering a career in football.

While working in the UK, an invitation to a local footy club piqued her interest.

"I started playing basketball over in London with some friends to just socialise, and a girl on our team ran the Wimbledon Hawks. She said, 'Come play, it's super fun'," Shierlaw told NMFC Media.

"I was like, oh yeah. That's awesome."

That was 2016, Shierlaw was 27 and her life was about to change.

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Sport has always been a key pillar in life for Shierlaw.

Growing up in South Australia, she was a footy fanatic growing up, but basketball was another early love, and at Little Athletics, she picked up the javelin.

"Mum and dad are sporty and I had a go at every sport pretty much when I was younger," she said.

"Little Athletics was the main one when you're five years old. It's really good grounding for every sport really - it helps your mechanics and athleticism.

"I'm pretty grateful that they got me into that."

Wanting to be a part of a team-based environment, basketball became the focal point for Shierlaw as javelin "got a bit lonely", before football started taking over.

Around the time she was invited to join the Wimbledon Hawks, Shierlaw watched an AFLW exhibition match on TV which featured the likes of Chelsea Randall, Daisy Pearce and now teammate and partner Emma Kearney.

Inspired, she helped coach and run water for Scotland's women's Aussie rules side in the 2016 Euro Cup in Portugal.

Western Bulldogs premiership player Lauren Spark, who was also playing abroad with Wimbledon, helped facilitate a move that saw the forward land a spot on Carlton's AFLW list for the 2017 season.

"Lauren was also getting drafted in the inaugural draft. She ended up going to Bulldogs, but she was talking to Carlton, so she had conversations with the club (about me)," Shierlaw said.

"She said to the Carlton list manager, 'I've got a tall friend playing in my team, you should look at her', and then it just went from there.

"They (the Blues) watched a bit of footage … I was super, super lucky to get a spot at the start."

Shierlaw featured 10 times for Carlton over two years, but being delisted at the end of the 2018 campaign left her in the wilderness.

"Initially I was distraught, I just couldn't come to terms with it at the start," she said.

"But I quickly switched to the mindset of knowing that there's clearly a reason and there's a lot of things I needed to get better at, so I had some honest conversations and self-reflection, which I pride myself on being able to do.

"I knew I could compete at the level, I just had to find someone or an environment that brought out the best and believed in me.

"I put my head down and bum up and went to work after that.

"Part of it was that self-belief," Shierlaw said on what she needed to work on. "When you feel like you belong you attack the ball more, you don't second guess yourself, you use your strength and speed.

"I was probably a bit hesitant because I didn't feel like I belonged."

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Fast forward to 2024, and Shierlaw has established herself as one of the premier forwards in the competition.

The 35-year-old kicked 18 goals from 11 games including a bag of five against Melbourne. Against Adelaide in Week 9, she was menacing in the air and deft at ground level, gathering 18 touches and kicking two critical goals in an eight-point win, earning her three votes in the League's Best and Fairest award.

It was her best overall season statistically, earning her an All-Australian squad nomination, but she wishes that she was "10 years younger".

"I still feel like I've got a lot of growth," she said.

"On one hand, it's frustrating and I still feel like I've got a long way to go, but on the other hand, I've squeezed a fair bit out late in my career.

"For me, I'll try and help the younger players come through. I'll see how we go and see how the body goes and hopefully the team can keep pushing as I rotate out and let the fresh faces flow in.

"That's the aim moving forward."

One of those younger Roos is Bella Eddey, who Shierlaw has grown close to.

They first met when Shierlaw was a Saint and Eddey was a Sandringham Dragons junior, but it wasn’t until Eddey arrived at Arden Street before the 2023 season that the two forwards started to click.

"Bella was the most welcoming," Shierlaw said. "She's like a little sister to me, and we're pretty inseparable around the club. We're always doing extra vision and skills and just trying to get better.

"I think we're both very driven and similar around values, so we clicked pretty quickly.

"We have a very good connection off the field, but I think we read each other really well on the field as well, which is handy."

If you've been to watch Shierlaw and Eddey link up during a North Melbourne match, then there's a decent chance you've heard the loud vocals courtesy of Kane Garner.

Club champ Jasmine Garner's brother, Kane is the team's water boy, unofficial head cheerleader and part of the furniture at Arden St.

Kate and Kane have formed a close bond over the past two years, evident by the celebrations following the club's gutsy qualifying final win over Adelaide when Shierlaw signed Kane's cheek with a marker.

"I just love his passion," Shierlaw said.

"I mean, he's the first to call us out if we're not doing the right thing or if we haven't kicked a goal, but he's the most supportive, passionate North Melbourne person you'll find.

"I love how much passion he brings to the club, even at training. He's selfless and such a beautiful guy deep down … the place wouldn't be the same without him."

Outside of football, Shierlaw works as a disability support worker, a role she says fits her personality.

"I really like helping and supporting people," she said.

"It's really wholesome work. The people bring me a lot of joy and they love footy as well.

Often, the people she works with will come down to Arden Street Oval during training sessions and games to support her.

Is there someone we should look out for?

"Lucas," Shierlaw said.

"He's our No.1 supporter. He loves Melbourne, but now that Melbourne is out, he'll be decked out in the North Melbourne clothes."

"Each week he would change what clothes he wears, but he's well on North Melbourne at the moment and he loves Bella Eddey as well."