Episode 55- Hawthorn AFLW player Laura Elliott

[Music] hello and welcome to episode 55 of the footy with Fletch podcast in this episode I'm joined by haon aflw player Laura Elliot Laura was selected by the Hawks with pick 26 in the 2022 aflw draft and she's played 14 aflw games Hello Laura how are you doing good thank you thanks for having me on thank you for joining me now tell me a little bit about your footy journey and how you got involved with footy um yes I've played footy since I was since o KCK so since about five or so um yeah just loved it I guess I got into it a little bit from my brother and sister um and yeah there then from Ock started playing under 10 and then had a little bit time off and then um went straight back into it after a year and played with the girls and all that yeah and you mentioned your time off you then went to play representative basketball what was that change up like and how did that come about yeah so that came about I remember finish I remember playing a few I remember playing footy and then wanting to play basketball I'd played footy and basketball at the same time and I wanted to play rep basketball and Mom uh said I couldn't play both so I had to choose uh one so I end up playing end up testing out rep basketball for a little bit and um yeah it was really fun like it's a whole different environment but at the same time kind of the same thing but um uh baskball was really good um I still really enjoyed it it was a tough like I loved footy and Bas for most of the time I was growing up but um fot he kind of overtook it in the end and you grew up a western Bulldog supporter who were some of your favorite players growing up um funny enough I used to have a Barry Hall Jersey when I was really young so that was like my first ever Jersey I think I had number 28 on the back which is his number but um obviously then after that I loved Luke dhouse he was another one um and then players like obviously like Bond um Jack McCrae Caleb Daniel all of those type players that started to come in when I was a little bit older um they're pretty cool but yeah all great players indeed and where did you play your Junior footy I played um for Point Cook Central sharks at that time they were called centry Lake sharks but now they called Point Point Cook Central sharks so and what was some of the highlights from your time there um yeah it was really special I look back on it now like creating a lot of good friendships I mean I played footy with some like in under 10s like obviously playing with the boys like played with uh the boys I used to go to school with and then when I played with the girls like yes people I'd go to school with and then it um you really create really good relationships and friendships um outside of school as well like you have new friends that you footy friends and yeah it's it's it was a really good place to um play footy there really good people there and really good coaches had a really good coach around that time as well and in 2019 you won the W wrfl inter league best and fairest what was that like for you oh God I can't even I can't even remember that um that was yeah that was really good um that was a good time as well uh inter league it's a long time ago um but I remember getting coached by my coach at local so that was really special um she was really really good so yeah it was a special moment but like I said got to play with a lot of my friends so it was just like at that time it was about yeah playing with friends and building new friendships and everything like that and your sister plays footy for cerg and you played a few games there before getting drafted what was that sort of like as well yeah that was a um that was really good I never actually got to play with my sister she ended up doing her ACL which was unfortunate but um I think just training with her up until that that was pretty cool like just and they were senior they were the senior side so I guess guess like going from under 18s it was a bit different but um yeah it was really fun it was actually a really good period of my life with footy um yeah just training with my sister which was pretty special um I wish I had have played a game but yeah that was actually a really special time that I think really funly of and you played all of your Junior career in the Midfield how did the move down back sort of come about um so that yeah local footy was all all in the Midfield um and then I came to Jets um and the first year I ended up playing a little bit of forward uh that was like covid year though so we only got a few games in the second year then was like forward a little bit in the mid like on the wing and then back towards the end of the year so then coming into my third year was that was like what my coach wanted me to do and it worked out so yeah and you played at the Jets for three years how did you find your time there yeah it was a really place to be um the first year obviously got a little bit interrupted with Co so that was a bit of a shame and the second year was a little bit up in up in the air like with like still having Co around but um it was really really fun especially that last year playing um where everything kind of connected for us as a team um and then end up winning the Premiership was re was really really special and I guess it's quite ironic because the Premiership captain for the Jets in 2022 was Charlotte B Asar and obviously you're both now at the Hawks what is that like to have that connection before joining Charlotte at the Hawks yeah that was really special I think personally as well I'm not the most outgoing person so to have someone that I knew going into that was um yeah it was actually really beneficial for me um and yeah I knew a lot of the other girls from Vic as well so that really helped um yeah it was actually it really really helped me personally just to um yeah have people you know going into it and then you can Branch off from there and in your draft year you played nine games averaging 13.8 disposals and 3.8 marks per game what did you make of the footy in your draft year um yeah it was again really like special and it was just great fun um I think it was obviously still going through like high school and like like that important period of high school doing like exams and everything was a bit hard but at the same time I was playing footy at like the highest level and that that was the best thing ever so I wouldn't have like wished anything else really it was just yeah it was a really good time and um I'm just super grateful for it and you won the Grand Final in 2022 by six points how stressful was it in the dying stages of that game because it was a really close game of footy yeah um it was it's really good to watch that game footy back um yeah in the moment I feel I think I don't remember feeling that nervous to be honest I think in the second quarter they got a bit ahead of us and then we came out in the third quarter and I think everything was just we were just on from there and I think once we started scoring those goals and having more more of the ball than them it kind of just like I feel like everyone just had a belief that we were going to win it like it whether it came down to the last minute or whatever it was it like I feel like from halim like we had we had the belief that we were going to do it so I think yeah it wasn't really it was nerve-wracking and I mean when the siren went it was a whole lot of Joy going through you but um yeah I don't think we were nervous that we were going to lose really and also in your draft year you were named in the NAB League girls Team of the Year and also the under 18 all Australian team what were those two honors like for you yeah it was kind of unexpect unexpected I guess that last year of my footy at Jets and before my draft year was um like everything started to come together I guess uh you know started got into the Vic team for the first time and then I got an invite for the Australian team and then you're getting named in all these honors and I think it was just all coming at me at once but yeah it was pretty special but um yeah it kind of all just yeah came at me at once and which clubs interviewed you in the late up to the 2022 aflw draft um a fair few of them did which was surprised in um yeah Fair a few of the Victorian clubs and then gws did as well so were you I guess open to the idea of of moving into state if you had to well yeah of course of course you're gon to if if that was the only if that was the only way I could play footy of course like that was all I ever wanted to do was play footy so at the highest stand so if that was the case um which I'm lucky enough it isn't because I mean getting to to a place like hawthor is a dream I mean it's been nothing but the best and tops here so I can't actually um describe how grateful I am that hawthor picked me up um yeah I wouldn't rather be anywhere else and you were selected by the Hawks with pick 26 what was it like to be selected by them I was pretty surreal I didn't expect I didn't I kind I kind of went into the draft like not wanting to jinx myself and you know bit on edge like am I going to get drafted or am I not so I was like a bit like yeah a bit on edge and just yeah didn't want to jinx myself so I didn't know who was going to or if I was going to so when my name got called out for horon I mean that was it was a really special moment and what was it like juggling your first year of footy with year 12 yeah it was a struggle but I think um again like I I get to play footy at the highest level and the club did a really really good job with supporting us all um you know we had one of the girls em ever is coming from Bendigo and she had to finish your 12 as well so that would would have been pretty hard for her but you know they were really good in supporting her like you don't have to you know come down to every session and that was like the same with us if we had a sack there next day you didn't you'll like just go home just study for that so they really prioritizes that prioritized that for us which was really beneficial for all of us and you made you Debo in round three of season 7 as a late in for McKenzie erley what was it sort of like I guess to to be a late and the buildup around all of that yeah I I think it kind of might have helped a little bit like I feel like it's very unique and I like but I feel like I don't know it was it was I guess I had 20 minutes before then I just had to prepare for it and I think that was like kind of the best way like you just you're not over overthinking it all I remember going into that match and being a possibility that I would come in but that was for someone else who might I got told before yeah like someone else might be coming out of the side with an injury um and it ended up not being that person then end up being Mac so that was a bit of surprise and then um being so late as well like I didn't think I would at that point but then when I got the call up I mean it was yeah pretty special I remember having a little bit of a tear and then um yeah getting straight into it how did you find your Debo game um pretty fastpaced like I think obviously not having time to prepare for it was a kind of there's pros and cons I think more of a prob which meant like you just had to get into it and then um it was fast-paced it was different but it was really really fun to be a part of obviously not the result we wanted but um yeah I think just playing for hawthor was really really special and you played six games in your first season what was the biggest thing that you took away from your first season in the competition uh just how different I guess it is like the the standard I mean the standard has grown over these past two years I've been in the comp but just I mean obviously the biggest difference is going from your highest that you've played at Juniors which is which might have been Vic or all Australian then to an aflw team and then you're playing against like players in my first season like or the first game Richmond like mon Conte like you're playing against players like that and that's just I mean it's it's a little bit of a I don't know it's a bit scary at first but then it's then you're a part of that I guess you got to just realize that you're in the league as well like you you deserve to be here so I think yeah I think just yeah the big difference really is like in the bodies and like strength and speed is kind of yeah the biggest takeaway I'd take from it and obviously I guess dealing with fans as well how do you sort of find meeting fans taking photos with them and and even doing media um yeah I I mean I love all of our fans I think it's really special the fans that we've got at Hawthorne I think um we're very much a family club and you see that with our fans like all the families coming down um yeah I find it pretty easy interacting with all the fans um they're they're all lovely and yeah never had obviously a bad experience because they're all they're all lovely like I said um meteor isn't my strong suit I would say wouldn't say but um no then again it's just it's just all a part of it after season s you sort of dealt with a bit of a hip injury what was that like for you yeah I guess I've um it was a bit different I've never really had like a big injury um to deal with you know little ones here and there like whatever it may be ankles and stuff but like nothing like and I guess coming into like a professional environment you don't know that that was sore or that that was you know low in strength or whatever it was that and then all of a sudden you get told oh like yeah that actually might be a problem so it was a bit like well I kind of I kind of had it like for a little while but never really thought much of it so then I guess to be taken care of like that was pretty special but yeah it was pretty hard um spending all of the pre-season um pretty much just rehabbing and yeah and then um all of the actual preseason as well we having which was pretty hard but then again we got to like the club's really supportive and got great staff so yeah can't really complain and your first game of 2023 was against the dogs it was probably a Breakout game as well 15 disposals and six marks what was it like to have such an influential performance um yeah I mean it was good it was um it was just a fun game to be part of I think um you know coming into our second year we wanted to do better than what we did in the first year and play some better footy and I think coming in into that game and winning was really special um and then playing with the of you know who we got in the offseason there like um you got baty and then you got Greta that was pretty pretty special as well um but yeah it was just a really good game to be a part of and last year against Port Adelaide you took a really courageous Mark going back with the fly what do you remember from that moment and what was running through your head at the time um I don't I can't actually I don't know what what would have been running through my head I guess just trying to catch the ball like pretty simple but yeah I don't actually remember the moment specifically but yeah it probably just would have been just to not really thinking much just playing footy like yeah and you played eight games in 2023 averaging 9.5 disposals and under three marks what did you make of your second season in the aflw um I think just that again like in the first season I had a lot I had a lot of improve to improve on and then coming into the second um you know wanting to improve on those things you want you wanted to at the end of the last season but then Al also then you come to the end of that season you're like I want more I got I got to improve on these things as well and being such a young player I think you always have you know higher standards and um that you want to reach so I think yeah you as a young player you're always wanting to improve and there's no um yeah just you always just to improv I think just coming out of that just wanted to work on more things and not have an injury um packed pre-season so kind of just wanted to get my body right and then actually hit preseason pretty hard so yeah and in May this year you signed a contract extension until the end of 2027 alongside Jazz Fleming what was the reasoning behind that decision um that was pretty easy uh the club's been amazing to me being here for the past 2 years and I think um yeah there's nowhere else I'd rather be um yeah they've just been amazing the players that I get to play with and the staff every everyone like it's a family club club and um the direction we're heading in now um is just so exciting and I just can't wait to be a part of it and how did you find the 2024 pre-season yeah it's been pretty hectic but it's been pretty fun um it's been fun to be a part of a full preseason now um you know first year having coming in late and then the second year with injury so it's been good just to yeah have a preseason and um we've got a we've got a new coach now so just to be learning tons of new things and our new system and everything like that so yeah it's just been a lot of fun and you've had two wins in match simulation and a practice match how positive is that heading into the season which starts next week yeah it is a a good sign a positive sign but um they're also practice matches so we got to look ahead to round one now and they don't count towards points so um yeah you just got to focus on the season now but it is like it is great to have a hit out against other opposition to practice all the things we've been um doing in the preseason and then yeah just you it's so different doing match team against yourselves to then going to play opposition so it's a really um beneficial thing to do and I think that the games we played we played um our system and and we had like tiny little refinements we wanted to to take but I think it was a big takeaway that we we played that system and um yeah we're going to say 11 matches across 10 weeks what do you make of this condensed component of the fixture this season um look I mean we get an extra game and that's that's that's what we wanted that's what we want we always want to play more footy so I think yeah it's it's condensed and um but we just focus on playing the games and um our staff is great everyone that we work with our high performance um team is amazing so I have no doubt that like and like that would be like with all the other aflw clubs they'd be able to get us through all those games and but yeah I think we're just happy to play more games and where can we expect to see you play throughout the 2024 season um the same as always on uh in the backline should be yeah and I guess over a week away you're playing Caron round one down in Frankton what is it sort of like to to come up against the blues yeah it'll be different we haven't played them before so it should be really interesting um we've got a lot of new teams that were playing this year which um should be real good fun um yeah so it's just exciting it's just exciting to get back into footy um yeah starting the season I just can't wait what are you looking forward to most about the upcoming year I think just where we can go as a team I think we're all really excited and we're all really positive about this season and I think um yeah we're just loving our footy at the moment and um we're working hard so I think just to put everything that we've done in the preseason into work now and into a game is just yeah it's pretty exciting for all of us and one thing that I find really intriguing is I guess the recovery side of footy so what does your recovery after a game look like Laura um so well we all like to get into the ice bath after a game um that's one of the things and you know uh refueling as well is pretty important um so yeah we're pretty lucky that we've got the ice bath straight after a game and then we've got food that we can refuel and um all sort all sorts of drinks and you'll see players stretching and rolling and doing it's all kind of subjective to how you like to do it um but yeah I like to do um the ice baths and then some stretching but um the day after yeah is pretty much now I've started get into like the saer and ice bath so that's um a pretty good way to do it and it's pretty fun um so yeah mainly those things and just finally as well you've got the nickname Billy how did that sort of I guess come about yeah um it's stuck now I don't really hear anyone else call me Laura it's kind of weird to hear it in that setting and footy setting to hear anyone call me Laura so um yeah it started just uh the first year I remember just they all gave us nicknames and mine was from obviously Billy Elliot so got last name Elliot so yeah it's stuck now it's um actually one of the I think we've got a few that have stuck um but yeah it's one of the ones that have yeah stuck throughout all these years well thank you so much for joining me today and all the best of luck for the upcoming season thank you so much for having me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey [Music] hey hey hey [Music]