Kate Sheahan opens up about fitting in at Collingwood, preseason injuries, her debut and ACL tear

EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: KATE Sheahan’s AFLW career may have started and ended in Round 4. She tells of the journey to get there, and the heartache that followed her horror knee injury.

IT’s 5pm on Friday night and my phone rings. It’s my coach Wayne Siekman.

He says to me: “Are you sitting down? Mate, you’re playing.”

I had been named as an emergency for our Round 4 clash against the Bulldogs, a step in the right direction after missing out on selection for our first three games of the season — my dream of playing AFL appearing far away.

But this time I was in, I’d be announced as a late inclusion on Saturday night.

The rest of the conversation with Wayne is a blur. I cried, I was shaking and I probably should have pulled over. I could barely speak but managed to mumble through tears a “thank you” and “I won’t leave anything out there.”

I didn’t know at the time I would leave my knee out there.

As soon as I got off the phone I called my dad. He had told me earlier in the week he felt good about this week’s game and the footy Gods would look down on us. I burst into tears and said: “I’m playing”.

Kate Sheahan was dreaming of her debut but had no idea it would end in the worst way possible. Picture: George Salpigtidis

He took a moment. I don’t know what physical reaction he had, but I am very pleased he has a pacemaker. It may have saved his life.

I couldn’t believe it. Finally I was about to realise my dream.

When I turned up at Collingwood for day one of preseason I felt sick. I was so nervous.

It was like starting year 7 all over again. I had 26 new teammates to get to know, coaches, medical staff and most of all had to learn how to play modern footy.

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For the first few weeks I felt lost and alone. I was recovering from a small procedure to my knee, which meant I couldn’t run and be out on the track with the girls. I was stuck in the rehab group battling my own mental demons on a bike, sweating it out in the altitude room. It was lonely.

Part of me thought people were saying I was there because of my family connection to footy and my spot on the team wasn’t legitimate. It worried me.

This was our dream Dad and we did it. It's didn't finish perfectly, but I made you proud and that's all that matters ❤ pic.twitter.com/7sPGLf3bns

— Kate Sheahan (@KateSheahan1) February 25, 2017

I didn’t know what to do until one afternoon I dropped my guard and asked teammate and now friend Mo Hope for a chat. I didn’t know Mo all that well but I knew her story. She thought I was the rich kid from Toorak with a butler, and she was the working class girl from Broadmeadows.

I came clean about my fears and struggles and after listening to me, her guard dropped and she realised we weren’t all that different after all. We both wanted the same thing.

Mo took me under her wing. She included me in chats in the ice baths, and with that I started to feel part of it. Then I started to shine on the track, I felt like I had my mojo back.

I spent the summer break training with my old mate Luke Power. We would do drills down at Rye Oval with Luke’s former GWS teammate Adam Tomlinson.

That was the light bulb moment for me. Here I was running around with current AFL players and not feeling out of my depth or inadequate. It’s as though they had no idea a girl was on the end of the kick, this was the new normal and it felt amazing.

Kate Sheahan is consoled by teammate Emma Grant after injuring her knee. Picture: Michael Klein

I came back from Christmas break with a spring in my step. I was running and my body felt awesome. I hadn’t been this fit and happy in a long time. In my second session back I was in full training.

But it didn’t go to plan. We were doing contested work and I went into the drill like a bull at a gate then bang! I hit my head and heard my neck crack.

Sure enough I was off to the Alfred Hospital for scans.

I started to feel terrified — not about my body but more that my dream was slipping away. That every corner I turned there was an obstacle, another setback to overcome.

Then a week before our first practice, a match I was desperate to play, I had an incident at training. I misjudged the ball and it hit the top of my finger. It turned out I took 50 per cent of the bone off and the tendon with it.

I still played in the practice match and went in feeling very nervous.

Greg ‘Diesel’ Williams had done some work with me leading into the season and he sent me a message beforehand: “I had 38 possessions in my fist game, beat that and I will shout you dinner,” it said.

We gathered in a team circle to receive our final message from the coach. All of a sudden tears streamed down my cheeks. My teammates were a bit taken aback by my emotion but they ruffled my hair and hugged me.

Greg Williams did some training with Kate Sheahan before her return to footy.

Kate Sheahan also trained with GWS’s Adam Tomlinson over the summer. Picture: Phil Hillyard

I think this is when they realised how much this meant to me.

I didn’t get the 38 touches, but I got through unscathed and a little more aware of the speed of the game.

Playing Round 1 was the fairytale, but it wasn’t to be. I understood the decision, I was simply underdone. But this didn’t make it easier to justify to friends and family. I got texts and calls and had to explain why I wasn’t playing but the hardest was explaining to my son, Will.

He said: “But why aren’t you playing mummy? You’re really good.” The answer of structures and team balance didn’t cut it with him.

Each week I didn’t get picked was harder and a bigger pill to swallow. I didn’t want my teammates to know how devastated I was because I genuinely believe that no one is bigger than the team.

In my mind the only choice was to keep showing up, keep working hard and being positive.

But finally, in Round 4, I had my opportunity and I was so excited about running out with my new friends. I couldn’t wait for the bus ride where I was self designated DJ — I just wanted to sing and dance with the girls. I had such a positive feeling about this game.

Kate Sheahan reveals she struggled fitting in at Collingwood until talking openly and honestly with teammate Mo Hope. Picture: Mark Stewart

We got to the ground and I was feeling a million dollars. I was ready.

I was presented my No.24 jumper — the same number friend Andrew Ireland wore — in the rooms by my dad. That was a special moment. I lifted it to the sky and screamed with joy and the girls ran in to congratulate me.

Then the real business started. In my second rotation on the ground in the second quarter I was on the wing. Lauren Tesoriero collected the ball and I knew she was going to give it to me — she always has my back.

I took the ball and felt right at home. I saw two Dogs players ahead and remembered Wayne telling us to use the boundary when kicking into the wind. So I decided to turn the opponent inside out and planted my left leg and went to change direction. BANG. My knee gave way. It snapped.

This surge of pain ran through my body and I went down like I had been shot, but to be honest that’s how it felt. I remember screaming: “My knee, my knee.”

The look on the medicos’ face said it all. I wanted so badly to get up. But I simply couldn’t.

We went to the rooms and my knee was examined. The doctor gave me the news straight away.

I was surrounded by distraught family and my son, Will, was in the rooms as I was being examined.

He hugged me and said: “Are you OK mummy? Is your knee hurt?” before crying.

Kate Sheahan hugs Moana Hope after Collingwood’s win. Picture: Michael Klein

My teammates also came into the rooms shortly after as the injury occured just before halftime. Emma Grant, my teammate and best mate at the club came straight over to me and had tears streaming down her face. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t have to. The look on her face said it all.

Club president Eddie McGuire and chief executive Gary Pert were also in the room.

“We’re sorry Kate. We are with you and we will look after you. You’re Collingwood now,” they said.

I wiped away my tears and realised my girls were out there and we were in this game. We were close and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of our first victory. I hobbled to the bench and began screaming and cheering.

All of a sudden the siren sounded and we were in front. If I could have run off that bench and jumped on the girls I would have but I settled for hobbling instead.

All the pain and sorrow was washed away with tears of joy. We sang that song like we had won the Grand Final — it was the best sporting moment of my life.

On Monday I had confirmation that I had torn my ACL. Since the incident I have been inundated with messages of love and support and I genuinely think that is what has helped me get through this. I have never felt so loved and supported.

Although my first game didn’t turn out how I would have liked there is nothing I would change along this journey. I would do it all over again just to have experienced that moment of running onto the ground in front of my family and friends, living out my lifelong dream of playing AFL footy.