Izzy Huntington reflects on three ACL injuries, her move to Sydney and falling in love with footy again
It’s been far from an easy path for Izzy Huntington. But with every passing game for the GWS Giants, the former AFLW Rising Star gets a greater appreciation of what it means to be a footy player.
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After more than 600 days on the sidelines, Izzy Huntington is back playing footy again.
For five weeks now, the 24-year-old has laced up her boots and taken to the field for the Giants. Her confidence grows with every stride as she looks to get back to the form that saw her named the AFLW’s Rising Star in 2020.
But she’s still missing one thing to really make her comeback complete: an elusive first goal in her new GWS colours.
“Oh god, we’ve been speaking about it a lot,” Huntington admitted. “I feel like I’m cursed, I’ve got the yips!”
In five games, Huntington has kicked four behinds. Each kick feels closer than the last, and she’s worried about what her teammates have in store for her when she finally gets one through the big sticks.
“Georgia Garnett, every time I kick a point she’s so excited,” Huntington said. “It’ll be scary to see what she will do when I actually kick a goal.
“They’ve been great getting around me.”
It’s been an emotional journey for Huntington to even get back to the point where she can think about kicking goals.
In January 2022, Huntington tore her ACL while playing for the Bulldogs, making it the third time she had to undergo a knee reconstruction.
“I certainly had a lot of moments and days where I thought I might just have to give it all up and whether it was all worth it,” Huntington said.
“It was particularly the last few months where I really questioned it. It’s not just questioning whether I can get back on the field, but can I perform at the same level. Am I good enough for the AFLW still?
“For a 24-year-old it’s pretty scary as well, no one really anticipates a career to be so filled with injuries. I’ve just got to take it as it comes.”
The biggest hurdle for Huntington was getting through her first game back, against Richmond in round three.
In front of her mum, dad, friends and family out at Blacktown International Sportspark, she did just that. It was a quiet game by her lofty standards with five disposals and two marks, but that’s not what mattered.
“I wanted to get a touch, but I wasn’t too fused about how I was going,” Huntington said. “You’ve got to look at it as an achievement, it’s the little wins.
“Five games doesn’t feel like many games to put together in a row, but with my history, it’s pretty good.
“Having done a few knees, you try not to put too much pressure on yourself coming back. You have a blueprint to know there’s a different timeline between returning to play and returning to perform.
“It’s a real joy getting through games unscathed. It’s almost like being back and playing juniors and having that excitement for the game.”
GETTING OUT OF THE BUBBLE
While Huntington can now say she plays footy with full confidence in her knee again, the prevalence of ACL injuries in women’s sports offers a constant reminder.
In the last week, Adelaide’s Abbie Ballard, the Bulldogs’ Keely Coyne and Essendon’s Daria Bannister have all suffered season-ending knee injuries.
“It’s pretty horrible, it brings feelings up as well, particularly Daria,” Huntington said.
“She was rooming with me when I did my first ACL. Then I was playing with her when she did her first one in 2018 back at the Dogs. I know Keely as well, so it’s shattering for those girls.
“We haven’t quite seen the same numbers this year from my gut feeling, which is good. But it’s such a long time out. Particularly AFLW with just 10 games … it can be taken away in a split second which is devastating.”
It’s part of the reason why Huntington moved to the Giants in 2022. She wanted to ensure she had a way to define herself that wasn’t just about footy and her injuries.
“It was about becoming not all-consumed by it all, having that separation,” she said.
“As much as I loved it at the Dogs, doing rehab in the same four walls again, for the third time, would have been really tough.
“I think having a different environment and a different group to be here with, but particularly in a state that’s not a footy state at all, is really important … you have to prioritise that after a few injuries unfortunately.”
Part of that challenge was finding a way to balance footy with her other passions. With a Bachelor of Science, Human Structure & Function already under her belt, she became a player engagement manager for the AFLPA’s Footy for Climate initiative.
“I never thought I would be working in footy, but it’s a great space to be in because it’s combining the connections with players for a really important cause,” Huntington said.
“It’s learning about the importance of our platform as players and how much of an influence we can have. We probably don’t realise it at times, but speaking up on important issues like climate action and other social causes is really vital.”
But there’s still so much Huntington wants to achieve on the footy field.
She will run out for her sixth game for the Giants against Carlton at Henson Park.
The only other time she has been to the ground was less than a month after suffering her ACL injury in 2022. She sat on the sidelines watching the Bulldogs take on her now-current teammates in a big win for GWS.
Huntington returns on Saturday ready to be right in the thick of the action. And just maybe, she will leave Marrickville with the goal she has been waiting for.
“Hopefully it will come this week.”
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