Amanda Farrugia: ‘It’s hard juggling an AFLW sport career and work’

Award-winning Sunday Telegraph sports photographer Phil Hillyard spent 2018 capturing five female athletes who epitomise the way women’s sport is changing in Australia. Here, AFLW star Amanda Farrugia talks about ignoring the critics and embracing the love of the game.

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The age of professionalism is rapidly transforming women’s sport across Australia.

No longer is it about pretty picture opportunities and demeaning pats on the back — these are real, tough sports stars working their guts out to compete with the best in the world.

Award-winning Sunday Telegraph sports photographer Phil Hillyard spent 2018 capturing five women as they went through the grind of training in their quest to be the best.

Here in her own words, AFLW star Amanda Farrugia talks about ignoring the critics and embracing the love of the game.

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If I wanted to play contact sport when I was growing up, the only place I could do it was the backyard.

In the late 80s and early 90s I knew I couldn’t take it anywhere other than that.

A lot of male athletes are groomed to be professional athletes from the age of 13 or 14. They’re head-hunted, targeted, they go to high schools that push them in the right direction to give them that elite possibility.

Not me.

My sports career is essentially backwards.

AFLW player Amanda Farrugia plays for the GWS Giants. Picture: Phil Hillyard

I’ve worked, studied, found a career and I’ve been able to fit some footy in at the end of that.

You need to be organised to juggle a sports career and work. You need to have people in your support network that are going to be understanding of the commitments you have.

I’m at work by 7.30 in the morning and sometimes won’t get home from training until 9.30 at night.

It’s a very intense time but the fact it’s a short season means I can get through it. If it was a whole year, I don’t know if I’d have the stamina.

But I’m glad I have a chance to be part of it for a short time.

Over the last five or eight years, unless you’ve been under a rock, you would have noticed the explosion in women’s participation in sport.

It’s great to see our passion and love for the sport acknowledged and nurtured and put in a public arena through a professional organisation.

Farrugia does boxing as part of her fitness training. Picture: Phil Hillyard

But also works as a teacher. Picture: Phil Hillyard

There are detractors, but if people don’t want to watch it, or don’t like it, or think it’s not as skilled as the men’s game, that’s OK. We’ll just keep going about our business. We’ll keep working hard and building our skill level. We don’t listen to background noise.

But the impact of AFLW is undeniable.

Amanda Farrugia loves playing AFL.

The best thing for me is seeing little girls run around and play footy just for the love of it.

If they want to follow a professional pathway in to AFLW one day, good luck to them.

Farrugia loves that more people are watching AFLW. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Farrugia loves the game of AFL. Picture: Phil Hillyard

But if they don’t, they’re just running around with their friends, kicking a footy, having a good time — what more could you ask for?

Originally published as Amanda Farrugia: ‘It’s hard juggling an AFLW sport career and work’