Emma Kearney has revealed how teammate Jess Duffin kept her pregnancy secret, sharing a story about a ‘bad chicken schnitzel’.

While Kearney skipper has no doubt Duffin would have been in the mix for selection in the Cricket World Cup, and potentially missed the AFLW season anyway, it was her absence from a WBBL match which got the skipper thinking.  

“She (Duffin) had some morning sickness, and missed one of her Renegades games,” Kearney told The Australian.

“I flicked her a message saying, ‘mate, any chance that you’re pregnant’?

“She goes ‘nah, I’ve just eaten a bad chicken schnitzel’.

“Obviously now I’m piecing it together and when she came back to training after the Big Bash before Christmas and said, ‘they’re just easing me back in, after Christmas I’ll be back to normal’.

“She was pulling my leg the whole time, but obviously they wanted to wait until that 12-week mark. We’re just so, so happy for her. It’s just amazing.”

While Duffin will sit out the season from a playing perspective and no doubt be a big loss after such an impressive year in 2019, she’ll still make her presence felt.

Set for a role with the Roos’ coaching staff, she’s sure to provide some valuable knowledge and experience.

“It’s been really good for me just to bounce ideas off her,” Kearney said.

“Sometimes it’s really hard to see what’s going on out there when you’re in the thick of things.”