Suns AFLW player Maddy Roberts is set to move to Sydney to commence training as a firefighter

She’s known for lighting up the footy field but now Maddy Roberts will be tasked with putting out spot fires off it.

SHE’S known for lighting up the footy field but now Maddy Roberts will be tasked with putting out spot fires off it.

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The inaugural Suns AFLW player has been accepted into the Fire and Rescue NSW Emergency Services Academy and has moved to Sydney to pursue a firefighting career.

Suns AFLW player Maddy Roberts. Pic Tim Marsden

“GC you have been an absolute dream,” the 27-year-old wrote on Instagram last month.

“Abrupt decisions to move to the big Syd had to be made and it scares the absolute barnacles off me but this one still has more dreams to chase!

“The memory bank is filled with endless good times and beyond grateful. I’m also grateful for the flights I’ll be able to jump on to continue filling the Gold Coast memory bank.”

Roberts was first bitten by the firefighting bug in her final two years of high school when she served as a volunteer firefighter at her local station in Pottsville.

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A foundation player and premiership winner for the Coolangatta Bluebirds, Roberts impressed at state league level for several years before joining the Suns as a priority selection.

She was named as an emergency for Round 1 against the GWS Giants before playing two games for Coolangatta in the QAFLW.

Bluebirds coach Nicole Graves said Roberts would be a big loss to the club.

“Maddy is a fantastic leader and it makes it a lot easier for us merging them (AFLW listed players) back into the team,” she said.

“There’s a couple of Cooly girls in the AFLW but they said they enjoyed seeing how the team had evolved when they came back and they were blown away with the change in skills and game plan.

“It’s really tough for the likes of Georgia Breward and Maddy and they were probably a bit ripped off that the final two rounds of the AFLW season were cut because it could have been an opportunity for them to make their debut and show their wares.”

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The Bulletin understands the Suns have conducted exit interviews with individual players but AFLW clubs are unable to negotiate re-signings or delistings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

If Roberts is re-signed by the Suns, it’s expected that the NSW Rural Fire Service will attempt to station her in Northern New South Wales so she can continue to pursue an AFLW career.