Tara Murray
New North Sunshine women’s coach Emily Smith never imagined she would ever coach at the club where she started her football career.
Smith played several years at the Roadrunners before she had to stop playing due to being too old and the Roadrunners not having girls or women’s sides.
She would later play with the St Albans Spurs and the St Kilda Sharks in the Victorian Women’s Football League and was chosen to represent the Victorian Youth Girls under-18 representative team on four occasions.
Also a talented cricketer, she focused on that sport for a number of years including playing in the Women’s National Cricket League and WBBL, before returning to football in recent years.
Now part of Collingwood’s AFLW list, Smith wants to give back to her junior club.
Smith said she was excited to be able to coach at the club which she would still visit regularly in the cricket off-seasons for many years.
“When the post went up, the most exciting thing for me was realising it was something that I thought would never be possible,” she said.
“That is the most exciting thing. I know some girls had really terrible experiences growing up playing football, but I had some really good experiences and my teammates were like older brothers.
“It was such a great place to be. In the cricket off season I would head down to North Sunshine, it was nice to come back.”
Smith, who has done some coaching in cricket, said she decided to take on the role to give back to her local club. She’s also always willing to learn and she said that she loves a challenge.
Now nearly through her first AFLW season with the Magpies, Smith said everything she had learnt growing up playing the sport was returning to her and she was really enjoying it.
Smith said they were hoping to get pre-season underway for the Roadrunners in November for next year’s Western Region Football League season.
The Roadrunners finished bottom in division 2 with one win.
Smith said they were hoping to build the program and the club up.
“The club has had a couple of tough years and there’s the opportunity with this program to help drive the connection and culture around the club.
“Hopefully we can keep the core players and hopefully add a few new girls into the mix.”
