Giants recruit Alicia Eva back in familiar territory as she takes on former club Collingwood

ALICIA Eva said there were tears when she made the difficult decision to leave Collingwood and so much has changed for the GWS midfielder as she prepares to face her former club.

Giants recruit Alicia Eva says leaving Collingwood was a tough decision. Picture: AAP

THERE were tears when Alicia Eva broke the news.

She was leaving Collingwood after one of the most difficult decisions she had ever had to make.

The star midfielder had finished runner-up in the Magpies’ best and fairest count and played every game in AFLW01, but she was on the move to Greater Western Sydney.

It wasn’t easy, starting with telling Pies coach Wayne Siekman.

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“It was a really, really tough decision,” Eva said.

“There were tears when I spoke to Wayne. He’s a mate of mine – he wasn’t only my coach, so it was really tough.

“But those options were something that I spent a lot of time mulling over. It wasn’t an easy or quick decision – it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.

“I spoke to almost all of the girls in person or over the phone and that was really tough. But they were all pretty good. They understood how difficult a decision it was.”

Eva will on Sunday return to the Holden Centre to face her former side.

There’s been more than a few texts between the now-Giant and her former teammates – none about the game itself, as yet, she says.

Alicia Eva will play against her former club. Picture: AAP

A lot has changed for Eva since she last walked out of Collingwood HQ, she quit her day job, moved cities and altered her game.

“I’m playing some different roles and spending a little bit more time in the middle playing more of an inside-mid role,” she said.

“And you’re with a different playing group as well. I’d played alongside a lot of the girls at Collingwood at Melbourne Uni or in various state teams, so I had a good understanding of how a lot of them played.

“So coming up here, there are a number of Victorians but there’s some girls that I didn’t know much about.

“You have to kind of adapt your game style, too. When you’re playing alongside girls that you know, you almost become predictable to each other.”

It took some getting used to, but coach Alan McConnell has been a valuable well of knowledge for Eva, who is also an experienced women’s football coach.

“Playing under Al has just been super,” she said.

“He’s really new to the AFL Women’s space and what I’ve found great about him is he doesn’t over-coach.

“He probably has a brain that’s bursting with footy knowledge but he knows when and when not to use that knowledge and when simple is best.”

Alicia Eva tackles Melbourne’s Elise O’Dea in Round 1. Picture: Getty Images

As a self-confessed “coffee snob”, Eva misses Melbourne cafes and, naturally, her family and friends, but will remain at the Giants once AFLW is over to further enhance her coaching.

“That’s my first priority up here to do some coaching work with the academy boys, the Under-18 girls and NEAFL coaching,” she said.

“That was just something that I couldn’t say no to.”

She doesn’t know what she’ll be greeted with today, but can’t wait to walk back into the Holden Centre and catch up with a few familiar faces both in black and white and in the crowd.

“There’s one supporter in particular who bought a Giants membership (to support me) which is just fantastic – it will be great to see her,” Eva said.

“We’re both 0-2 and it’s going to be a really good game. We are playing some good footy, but there are some areas where we kind of let ourselves down. We’re looking to rectify that and hopefully turn a close game into a win.

“I’m not feeling too nervous (about going back to Collingwood) … yet. But we’ll see how we go.”