AFLW grand final: Irish Kangaroo Niamh Martin on how her own parents hoodwinked her on the eve of the grand final

As the Roos plot their premiership push, a pair of Irish parents bit the bullet to surprise their AFLW-playing daughter on the eve of the biggest game of her life. So how did they pull it off?

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 26: Niamh Martin of the Kangaroos is seen with her parents during the 2023 AFLW Second Preliminary Final match between The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos and The Adelaide Crows at IKON Park on November 26, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The mercury is tipped to hit six degrees in Kilcash on Sunday.

In County Tipperary, Ireland, nestled in the mountains, there’s a 16th-century castle, a Catholic Church and less than a thousand people, with capital Dublin a couple of hours up the motorway.

It could – by Sunday night – be home to a premiership player, and maybe some pink cheeks and shoulders on a 24-degree Melbourne day.

It’s a world away.

Which is safe to conclude why Kangaroo Niamh Martin got the fright of her life when, 17,343km away from “Cill Chais”, in Melbourne’s Clifton Hill, her parents Mike and Ann crept in her front door ahead of the team’s preliminary final against Adelaide.

The video was an instant hit on social media.

Surprises can be tough to pull off, but Niamh's family might have nailed it 😭#Kangaspic.twitter.com/oVLDSPaXRE

— North Melbourne Women's (@NMFCWomens) November 25, 2023

“I honestly had no clue,” Martin said this week.

“I was texting them up until about 20 minutes before they walked in, thinking they were home.

“I speak to them every day, like all the time. I even got my mother to download Snapchat so it’s just easy to send her a few pictures.

“They both work together in Dublin. My mam was in the office and was messing with me, saying she’s so busy … and she was saying ‘I better go’. I went and did recovery at the club that night and was texting them goodnight, but it didn’t question it.”

The Martins made it all the way from Ireland. Picture: Getty Images

When Martin, 23, woke the next morning, the ruse continued.

“They had taken selfies at home and sent them – dad’s one was in bed, and said ‘morning’,” she said.

“Every morning (Dublin time) he texts me ‘good morning’. Usually when I wake up, I’m like ‘good morning’ and he’ll say ‘good afternoon’. Then, I was training for their whole second flight.

“Then they were texting me about different things that were going on at home. I sent my mam a picture of my new boots – she wouldn’t like the flashiness (of non black boots) and she just left me on opened. I thought she didn’t like the boots, but it was because she was on the way.”

Her housemate and fellow Roo, Erika O’Shea, was in on the plan, pretending to grab her boots from outside the front door before sneaking in the ultimate surprise – catching it all on camera.

“That’s who I thought had walked back in,” Martin said.

The elaborate ruse paid dividends. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“I think I got a bit of a scare and then I realised it was them and it was some shock. I think 20 minutes later I was still sitting there thinking, ‘how can they go from our small little village of Kilcash to being in my house in Clifton Hill?’

“This whole journey, I haven’t had them there and then they’re just sitting in my sitting room.

Since I started playing football, it would be them that would be motivating me the whole way. They’re both obsessed with sport.

“They live for it. So they’re so excited. They’ve been getting up for even the week off, watching all the matches at 4am in the morning and I wasn’t even playing.

“So they’ve really indulged themselves in the whole AFLW, or AFWL as my mum says it.”

Mike and Ann will be at Ikon Park on Sunday, having moved their flights – originally scheduled to return to Ireland on Saturday – to hopefully watch their daughter win a flag in her first AFLW year, having impressed for Tipperary in the Gaelic competition.

It was “a last minute decision” to make the lengthy journey, Mike said this week, hopeful it will all be worthwhile.

O’Shea, 21, said having Martin on hand in her second season had been helpful not only for homesickness.

Irish pair Niamh Martin and Erika O'Shea have become great mates. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“She was teaching me a lot in the house, as well, how to clean more and stuff like that,” she laughed.

“We’ve come a long way. I’ve been really lucky to have someone a similar age to me as well.”

O’Shea “eats very plain” – bolognese her specialty – while Martin is “pure Irish”, preferring meat, vegetables and rice, meaning the pair cook separately.

The menu might be divided, but the Irish AFLW community both in Australia and in the Emerald Isle will be in full voice on Sunday.

“Even having 33 Irish girls out here, I feel like a lot of their families will tune in just to support, because Irish support Irish out here,” O’Shea said.

“There’ll be huge Irish support back home no matter what. It’s exciting.”

Martin said “there’s huge broadcast at home”, where the game will kick off at 3.30am.

“They all have more of an idea of the game as well, so it’s growing,” Martin said.

“Even (Cats player) Aishling Moloney, she’d be texting me telling me her parents are coming to the match, so we have support from all angles.”