Mount Gambier’s Brooke Tonon drafted to Adelaide Football Club

From the only girl on the field to being drafted this rising star never let the “cheap comments” get to her says learning to believe in herself made her AFLW dream a reality.

Brooke Tonon grew up playing with the boys in Mount Gambier and now she is ready to take on the best women in the nation.

She was nine when the game caught her eye while at netball training with East Gambier and at 17 she has been drafted to the Adelaide Football Club.

“There was a young girl kicking the footy down there and I thought I’d give that a crack and mum and dad said yes so I played netball and footy for a bit,” Tonon said.

Brooke Tonon ahead of the AFLW draft. Picture: Morgan Sette

The former Mount Gambier High School said earning respect among the pack of boys wasn’t easy but it made her a better player.

There was the father on the sideline heckling her opponent about catching “cooties” and the coach telling his side to go easy, but Tonon said the “cheap comments” waned as she proved herself.

“It threw me into the deep end straight away, I was able to grow a lot and obviously boys have played the sport for a lot longer,” she said.

“Back then when I was playing not many girls were playing and I was able to develop my skills and speed through playing the boys.

“I dealt with a lot of comments.

“I played one game and the coach of the other team was like ‘oh there’s a girl on that team, maybe don’t go as hard’ and then I kicked a goal and they were like ‘oh yes, she’s fine go as hard as you can’.”

Tonon said approaching cut off age for the co-ed competition was a “bit scary” but by then the young gun had opportunities in the city.

It wasn’t until she lined up for Glenelg in the under-14s that she played against other girls but by the time she’d finished under-16s, the travel was encroaching on her education.

Brooke Tonon (right) pictured with fellow Glenelg SANFLW premiership players Jess Bates and Ellie Kellock. Picture: Supplied

The move to Adelaide – boarding at Scotch College – in Year 11 made the AFLW became a tangible goal and Tonon thanked parents Ben and Rachel for the sacrifices they made for her to pursue her sport.

“They’ve given me so much and without them I wouldn’t get to be up here,” she said.

“I don’t have to travel, miss school, come back, catch up on school again.

“My development through being able to train consistently with high level teams has been unreal, I’ve developed heaps since I’ve moved up here.”

Tonon upped her fitness, finding her strength in a position shift from forward into half back, and went from an average of seven touches to 20.

“I was having a really good SANFLW season and I thought maybe I actually can get picked,” she said.

“It was always a goal, but I think it became realistic this year when I had more belief in myself.”

Tonon said getting selected at pick number 20 was the best day of her life and is now ready for her first pre-season with the Crows.

“I would love to play a game,” she said.

“That’d be awesome but to learn off (the other players) and develop my game even more would be the core goals.”

Off the field, Tonon is finishing up year 12 with her sights set on studying critical exercise physiology and a career in elite sport.