By Tara Murray
New North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos AFLW recruit Vivien Saad wasn’t expecting to get her chance this AFLW season.
Having played football for just one season, Saad was enjoying the opportunity to train with an AFLW squad.
With Jess Duffin missing the season due to pregnancy, the Kangaroos applied to add a 31st player to their list.
They were successful and jumped at the chance to promote Saad.
Saad, who grew up in Brimbank, said it was exciting and pretty overwhelming to get an opportunity.
“To be honest, it took me by surprise. I knew there was a lot to improve on in my game,” she said.
“It wasn’t until a few of the other ‘AFLW train on’ girls hit me up asking if they had spoken to me.
“It’s very exciting. They approached me about it and they wanted me to be that 31st player.”
The transition into an AFLW player has been a quick one for Saad, who had been a basketballer.
Her only football skills had come from playing a bit of football with her cousins growing up.
Having thought about making the move for a couple of years, she finally decided to take the plunge.
She played with North Melbourne-aligned Melbourne University in last year’s VFLW season, and took ownership of their number one ruck position.
“Football has always been on the back of mind for two to three years, but I had never really committed,” she said.
“I thought I would give it a crack and fully commit to it and I did. I haven’t turned back since and I loved it.
“I flicked an email to see if I could just jump in one of the sessions to see if I really enjoyed it.
“I kept attending training and they were more than happy to have me on board and it kind of went from there.”
Saad said despite making the big change from playing basketball to football, it was a decision that was easier than she thought.
Saad played a key role in a number of Big V championships with the Hume City Broncos.
She is one of four players from that club to join AFLW lists this season, including Kangaroos teammate Sarah Wright.
“I think with my basketball, I had got to point where I had done what I wanted to do,” she said.
“I finished on good terms with basketball and I loved it, but it was sort of what’s next?
“I played basketball with a great bunch of girls and it was almost like the next step for me that I wanted to give football a crack.”
The move to the AFLW list has already seen Saad go from training twice a week to four times a week.
She said while she would love to play this season, she wasn’t setting too many expectations on herself.
“I just want to kind of give it my all when I’m out there, as you don’t know how long you will be out there.
“It’s about clearing your head and just keep doing what you’ve been doing to get you where you are.”
