Kate Surman is the energy-packed Suns player looking to guide Gold Coast to success in the AFLW

Kate Surman was given the nickname ‘spud’ because she was a couch potato as a young child. But sitting still is something the Suns AFLW player now does little of. Surman is a midfielder whose energy on field is mirrored off it.

KATE Surman was given the nickname ‘spud’ because she was a couch potato as a young child.

But sitting still is something the Suns AFLW player now does little of. Surman is a midfielder whose energy on field is mirrored off it.

“I just go. I’m like the Energiser bunny,” Surman, 28, said.

“That’s why people think I’m younger than I really am. I get excited very easily and I’m just so stoked to be here (at the Suns).

“Most weeks I have the most kilometres and I’m the smallest person in the team.

“Sometimes I have to pull back my running in that regard.”

The 162cm talent was one of Gold Coast’s priority signings for the 2020 AFLW season after being headhunted by Suns female football manager Fiona McLarty.

Kate Surman runs the ball during a practice match between AFLW teams the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns at Leyshon Park on January 29, 2020 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Surman dabbled in Australian rules as a young girl in Ballarat, Victoria, and often outclassed her male counterparts throughout primary school.

She played some school football in high school but while she always preferred playing with the Sherrin, Surman pursued basketball.

The physiotherapist moved to Queensland in 2012 but while the desire to play football remained with her, it wasn’t until she watched childhood friend Tahni Nestor play for Carlton in 2017 that she finally decided to get back into it.

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Surman joined QAFLW side Maroochydore in 2017, joined the Suns academy in 2018 and was named player of the 2019 QW Winter Series and is now part of the club’s inaugural AFLW team.

“I would drive two-and-a-half-hours every Saturday from the Sunshine Coast to train with the academy,” Surman said.

“We had a good bunch of girls and we worked our rear-ends off. We created an incredible bond.

“I like to think what we did started the framework for what we have now.”