Cheyenne Hammond was bitten by a snake when she was eight-years-old so is no stranger to brushing paths with AFLW opposition predators

Cheyenne Hammond is no stranger to brushing paths with some of Australia’s fiercest predators.

CHEYENNE Hammond is no stranger to brushing paths with some of Australia’s fiercest predators.

Whether it’s bearing down on some of the AFLW’s most vicious stars or escaping unharmed from a bout with Australia’s most poisonous reptile, Hammond has surprisingly done it all.

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When she was eight and on a school excursion to the Kuitpo Forest in South Australia, Hammond had a brush with death that has since shaped her journey as a footballer. “We were walking in the bush and all of a sudden I had this stinging feeling on the side of my leg,” she said.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 03: Cheyenne Hammond catches during a Gold Coast Suns AFLW training session on March 03, 2020 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“I thought it was an ant or something but it kept getting worse so I told my teacher and she lifted up the bottom of my pants and said, ‘I’m just going to get a few more people.’

“She came back with a few of the other teachers and they all had a look and they were like: ‘Don’t panic but we think you’ve been bitten by a snake.’ And I was like: ‘What do you mean don’t panic!’

“I wasn’t allowed to move, which was really hard because I was busting to go to the toilet, but we went to hospital and they did all the tests and found out it was a brown snake.

“Luckily the bites were non-venomous because they think the snake had eaten that day and used up its venom.

“I actually wasn’t freaking out and thought it was fun I’d get to miss a few days of school. My mum jokes that I’m good at sport because I was bitten by a snake.”

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The 21-year-old’s scaly secret came to the fore at the Suns recently when players were made to reveal a fun fact about themselves.

Cheyenne Hammond with her mother Simone Hammond at Flinders Medical Centre after being bitten by a snake.

“All my teammates have been asking me about it since,” she said.

Hammond, formerly an elite soccer play who represented Adelaide United in the W-League, said she was still adjusting to the speed of AFLW just five games into her second elite sporting career.

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“At first it was pretty hard,” she said.

“There’s been a few times where I’ve been standing next to a big-name player or shaking hands with them after the game and you’ve dreamt of this your whole life.

“Games take a lot out of you both physically and mentally but I love playing and the challenge of training hard.

“It’s a lot faster and quicker than what I’m used to at a local footy level but I’m still adjusting.”

The Suns take on the Fremantle Dockers in Perth this afternoon in their first AFLW final series.