AFLW 2024: St Kilda defender Alice Burke buoyed by start to season

The daughter of a St Kilda legend says something special is brewing at Moorabbin ahead of a big test for the Saints’ AFLW side.

St Kilda defender Alice Burke says the unbeaten Saints are playing with complete faith in each other ahead of their biggest test yet against Hawthorn on Saturday.

The daughter of St Kilda great Nathan Burke said her teammates had strong belief in coach Nick Dal Santo’s system as they planned to extend a five-game winning streak at Moorabbin.

The Hawks clash comes before a challenging end to the home and away season with Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane lying in wait.

“Nick asked us on the game after the weekend, ‘why do you guys feel so much more confident, what’s changed, what’s actually happened?’ I think when you see players in your team work so hard time and time again, you can’t help but believe they’re going to show up in the right spots every time,” Burke said.

St Kilda defender Alice Burke says the Saints will enter a challenging next period of the AFLW season full of belief in their game plan. Picture: Matt Roberts / Getty Images

“When you’ve got that belief, that means you can just focus on giving your best for the team and not worry about what other people are doing. We’ve been drilling in the same things every week, and there’s a lot of confidence now in the system he’s set up.

“Unfortunately against Essendon it turned into a bit of a scrap fight, but it’s good to know too that when things get tough, we can fight it out … I’ve never had this much belief in a team I’ve played in before.”

Burke, 21, drew a fresh wave of comparisons to her club champion father when she bounced remarkably up to her feet following a high bump from Essendon’s Maddi Gay.

Nathan Burke (left) and Alice Burke embrace after a 2022 match between the Western Bulldogs, who Nathan was coaching, and St Kilda. Picture: Dylan Burns / Getty Images

“I’ve had a few friends send me some screenshots … it’s nice to see, because obviously Dad was one of the greats and everyone always talks about how amazing his game was,” she said.

“And those values he was known for, they’ve always been something I’ve wanted to incorporate in my game, because you can be the most talented person out there, but it all means nothing if you’re not a hard worker.

“Since I was little, Dad’s always been hard … he’s been like ‘if you fall down, you’ve got to get straight back up!’ He can’t have a kid crying on the ground, you’ve got to get up and get back into it, so I’ve definitely taken that into my game.”

Originally published as AFLW 2024: St Kilda defender Alice Burke buoyed by start to season