Melbourne star Karen Paxman is a favourite to the win AFLW best and fairest but doesn’t watch AFL
MELBOURNE star Karen Paxman is one of the favourites to win the AFLW best and fairest but despite having a distinguished footy resume, she doesn’t watch AFL.
IF Karen Paxman walked past Patrick Dangerfield in the street, she probably wouldn’t know it.
The Melbourne gun — signed as a priority pick — sits atop the Herald Sun AFLW Player of the Year voting.
She’s played just about every minute of every game in the competition’s inaugural season and has won seven premierships in the VFL Women’s competition.
But she doesn’t watch the AFL.
Never really has.
“It was just never on the telly because Mum and Dad didn’t watch it,” Paxman says.
“I was just really busy as a kid — I was into everything. I loved being outside playing or having a kick of the footy.
“I think I was just too ‘hypo’ to sit down and watch something, so I never grew an interest in it. Now, it’s followed on and I don’t really have an interest in watching.
“I could walk past probably 99 per cent of current AFL players and not know them. The footy conversations people have … I don’t join in because I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Not that it’s affected her game.
Paxman, 28, has amassed the most disposals of any player in AFL Women’s, averaging more than 22 touches a game and is one of the best runners in the competition.
She says she “switches on a little bit more now” but isn’t fazed, happy to run her own race in her own football bubble.
Doing it her way has its benefits.
Paxman is one vote clear of Carlton’s Brianna Davey and two beyond teammate Daisy Pearce in the Herald Sun tally and is considered a red-hot chance to be named the first AFLW best and fairest winner.
More pressing is that Melbourne’s season could end on Saturday.
The Demons must defeat Fremantle at Casey Fields — by a fair margin — to give themselves a chance of making next weekend’s Grand Final in Brisbane. They would also need Collingwood to soundly defeat Adelaide on Sunday.
Paxman says the seven-week season “has flown”.
“It’s been a short, intense period,” she says.
“I think everyone’s kind of feeling it now, but I’m excited for the weekend.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. Our sights are on this week and obviously we need to win. We’d want to win by a good margin, too, at the same time.”
The Demons got a taste of just how “brutal” the competition can be when they fell 15 points short of Brisbane in horrid conditions in Round 1.
It put them behind the Eight ball, leaving them chasing all season.
“You don’t get a second chance to play the teams, the quarters are shorter, you’re thrown together in a brand new team and have had quite a short pre-season together. So the pressure is quite high and it’s every game it feels like the intensity of a Grand Final.”
That’s why she wants another crack at the Lions next weekend.
And she thinks that given the opportunity, the Demons can win it.
“Definitely. I feel like if we had another chance against Brisbane (we would win),” Paxman says.
“My opinion is, we’re the best team in the competition and I think we can definitely win.
“(Having to travel to Brisbane) is just all part of it. We travelled quite well last week to Darwin and I don’t think it’d be a problem.”
As if she didn’t already have enough on her plate leading the charge in the Demons midfield, Paxman recently took up tertiary studies, beginning a course in social work — a passion of the Ladder mentor’s — at RMIT.
“The last couple of months have been ... quite busy,” she smiles.
“But everyone’s going through different challenges in their personal lives. Everyone’s busy and everyone’s juggling lots of different things. A lot of the other girls are a lot busier than me. You just try and rely on the help and support from everyone else.”
Originally published as Melbourne star Karen Paxman is a favourite to the win AFLW best and fairest but doesn’t watch AFL
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