Tara Murray
Had you told Amy Smith she would be on an AFLW list two years ago she wouldn’t have believed you.
A basketball player with the Keilor Thunder in the Big V, Smith looked on track to be hitting three-pointers not kicking goals.
She then made the decision to take up football with Aberfeldie in the Essendon District Football League for the 2019 season and hasn’t looked back.
Last week she was selected by the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos AFLW team as their first father-daughter pick.
Smith’s father Shaun Smith played 47 games for North Melbourne and another 67 for Melbourne, meaning she was eligible under the father-daughter rule for both clubs.
Her brother Joel Smith, who also made a late transition from basketball to football, plays for Melbourne.
Smith said it was still sinking in that she was an AFLW player.
“It’s amazing and it’s still sinking in,” she said.
“Two years ago had you asked me if I would have been in this situation I would have said no.
“It’s a bit surreal, but I wouldn’t change a thing and I’m so grateful I made the decision to change from basketball to football.”
Smith, who lives in Hillside, said she had seen other girls make the transition from basketball to football which made her want to give it a go after playing basketball for 12 years.
She knew a few people already at Aberfeldie and decided to join them and played a key part in their premiership in 2019.
Smith said she had to do a bit of work on her skills to get them up to scratch.
“When I first started, kicking wasn’t great,” she said.
“I put in a lot of work to develop those skills and I’m surprised how quickly they have developed.”
If Smith was surprised about herself taking to the footy field, she said her dad was even more so.
He has been one of her biggest supporters in making the switch, getting involved with the Abefeldie women’s program.
“If you asked him two years ago whether I would be playing AFLW, he would have said it was a definite no.
“He always loves to help. When I said I wanted to play football, he said we have to work on my skills.”
Having had a successful first season, Smith looked to make the transition into the VFLW.
She spoke to a few clubs, with Williamstown the standout and she joined them for the 2020 season.
“I went down for one training session and it went from there,” she said.
“I loved it as soon as I got down. I went down there and it felt like I had been there for years, they were very welcoming and everyone is so nice.”
Williamstown VFLW football manager Claudia Davey said they had been impressed with Smith’s work rate in the short time she had been at the club.
“Although it has been a difficult year for all, Amy has continued to work hard outside the club and we look forward to seeing her follow in her father’s footsteps at North Melbourne.”
While the season didn’t go ahead, Smith tried to keep her skills up as much as possible.
Both North Melbourne and Melbourne spoke to her about joining their clubs, with North Melbourne offering her a spot on their list.
North has said they will look to play the 21-year-old in the back half of the ground and the midfield.
Smith is now just keen to start pre-season training.
“I haven’t met anyone in person yet, it’s all been over Zoom,” she said.
“I just want to get down there and get started.”
