More than most footy players, Tahlia Randall has earned her success.
Before spearheading North Melbourne's forward line, she learned her craft as a defender and ruck.
Before lifting last year's premiership cup, she played in three losing Grand Finals: two with Brisbane and one with the Kangaroos.
As she prepares to celebrate her 100-game milestone at Arden St Oval on Saturday, two of Randall's teammates and North Melbourne's head of women's football explain why she belongs among the game's greats.
Libby Birch, teammate
Tahls and I have always had so many battles, particularly when I was at the Demons. Last week she talked about the time I sledged her.
Her bodywork in the forward line and her ability to be intimidating is just insane. You can't win against her a lot, so when you do win it's like, 'All right, let's get into it'. So that's why I said, 'You're s***, Randall'.
What she left out of that story is that the next game she came out and gave me a bath.
As teammates over the last two years we've pushed each other to be better players. I've been very grateful for that opportunity.
She's taught me to be a better defender and I've taught her to be a better forward. But most of all, we've got each other's backs off the field.
What I've learned from Tahls is to always have balance in your life.
I'm a serious personality and she makes me laugh. I'll be tuned in to a training drill and she'll be in my ear pointing out a dragonfly. She reminds me to always enjoy the moments and not take life too seriously.
The thing she lives by is: 'Just be yourself, because everyone else is taken'.
I'm so proud of her. She's the funniest, kindest person you'll ever meet. She's also one of the best contested marks in the game.
She has been enormous for this competition and probably hasn't got the recognition she deserves.
Emma King, teammate
When I came to interview for North in 2018, (then football operations chief) Laura Kane and (then coach) Scotty Gowans were in the room. They said, 'We've got some big names coming to the club', but it was all hush-hush about who's coming.
I said, 'You're gonna have to give me some names'. They said 'Tahlia Randall' and I was like, 'That's a big get'.
Tahls and I had met when we were teenagers, playing exhibition games for the Bulldogs way back before the AFLW. We got on like a house on fire.
When she was at Brisbane later on, she played in the ruck. I used to line up against her and she'd be wearing those bloody plaits. I could do without the plaits, but I rated her as a player, so when she came to North I was really excited to play with her.
Off the field, she's a one-of-a-kind individual.
She's got a unique sense of humour that can be quite hard to get. She has this ability to make anything into an innuendo.
In her first few seasons she was somewhat unapproachable. You'd think, 'Wow, does she like me as a teammate?' But she really came out of her shell.
She's become one of my closest friends over the years and the many memories we've made on and off the field together is something I'll cherish forever.
She's always had natural talent and potential to be a star of the league.
Especially in the last two or three seasons, we've been able to see that come to fruition. We've been lucky enough as a team to reap the rewards of that.
Erin Lorenzini, North Melbourne general manager of women's football
When you work in footy, the best thing about coming to work is the people. It's people like Tahlia, who you can have a joke with, who bring the banter, who can make the day.
But very few can do that and then work as hard and be as focused as Tahls can. She's got a beautiful balance of that. She brings the energy and is here for her friends and has a good time. But my god, she trains hard as well.
When she's emotionally invested in someone or something, like she is with our program, she's all in on it with you.
That's what makes her so good. It's why she's got to 100 games. She's an amazing athlete, and I reckon she's got a fair few more games left.
Tahls is the first one to always acknowledge her teammates. You'll often see her kick a goal, then go straight to the person who set it up, or point to that person. She would never not celebrate with their teammates.
Before she finally won one last year, she lost three Grand Finals.
She's reflected on how hard it was to lose those games. You go through a whole season building for this one moment, you get to the moment and you don't quite get there.
So if you lose three in a row, and you're someone that's highly invested, that's going to affect you. We saw in the (Worth the Wait) documentary how it affected Tahlia.
When you do win, it is the highest of the high. I was stoked that she got to experience that along with all of her friends. It was really special to celebrate that with her.
