GWS head coaches Al McConnell and Leon Cameron offered simple but challenging advice to new AFLW captain Alicia Eva, one of the busiest football brains at the club.
Inaugural skipper Amanda Farrugia’s shock off-season retirement means Eva will lead the Giants on Saturday, when their campaign starts against Gold Coast at Sydney’s Blacktown Oval.
Eva is arguably the club’s best player but also one of the nation’s most promising female Australian football coaches.
The 28-year-old is part of GWS’s coaching staff, helping mentor the men’s NEAFL side.
It kept her exceptionally busy last year, now captaincy shapes as the latest test of the midfielder’s time-management skills as she seeks to deliver the Giants their first flag.
“I sat down with Leon Cameron before the start of this pre-season and he made it very clear to me that my priority now is AFLW and to lead,” Eva told AAP.
“That he 100 per cent supports me in my role and if that means I’m only here for half a day a week (coaching), then so be it.
“Last year, I was very conscious about wanting to make sure that once AFLW finished that I didn’t roll into the club and have the boys go ‘who’s she?’. I was here a fair bit, probably more than I should have been, but that was my choice.
“I need to heed Leon’s words, make sure that playing is my priority while I’m young enough to play.”
McConnell, Eva’s boss on two levels given he is AFLW coach but also the club’s director of coaching, offered similar advice regarding captaincy.
“We’re at the point where the best thing she can do as captain is play well,” McConnell said.
“Because she’s a perfectionist, the key in that sense is time management. Which she needs to be conscious of and I remind her about occasionally … she’s managed that pretty well.”
Eva admitted Farrugia left big shoes to fill, adding she will continue to pick the brain of this AFLW season’s premiership-cup ambassador.
“She has built an amazing culture,” Eva said.
“Captaincy has changed things in the sense that I have a greater responsibility. Not so much to lead, I’ve always been pretty vocal, but to make sure we have the culture and support pieces right.”