Collingwood’s Machaelia Roberts opens up on leaving three children in NT to chase AFLW dream

Leaving her young family at home in the Northern Territory, indigenous Collingwood recruit Machaelia Roberts has had to sacrifice more than most to chase her AFLW dream.

Collingwood AFLW trailblazer Machaelia Roberts thinks about her children every day — every second of every day.

Leaving daughter Elaine, 7, and twin sons, Rex and Raiden, 5, behind was the hardest thing the 25 year-old has had to do to become the Magpies’ first indigenous female player.

It is a daily struggle, but the speedy small forward is determined to use the AFLW platform to inspire not only her own, but coming generations of football-obsessed Territorian girls.

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Machaelia Roberts with her daughter Elaine, 7, and five-year-old twin sons, Rex and Raiden. Picture: AFLNT Media

“I call them every day, I try in the morning as I make my way here but the hour-and-a-half time difference to Darwin (is hard), I got to try and get them at the right time,” Roberts said.

“I’m miss them heaps — the routine we had, we were just getting everything together.”

Roberts moved to Melbourne after the Pies swooped with pick 94.

The magnitude of the relocation sunk in at Christmas as Roberts returned to Darwin to pack up the family’s home and move the children to the Tiwi Islands to live with their father.

Despite the organised chaos, thankfully, Santa found the Roberts’ children and duly delivered a raft of Magpies-themed gifts.

“I didn’t really have too much time to spend with them (at Christmas),” Roberts said.

“We were too busy packing up the house — after the season I’ll go back and find somewhere we can all settle for a bit longer.”

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Originally from Groote Eylandt, the fourth largest island in Australia — about 50km off the Northern Territory mainland, Roberts started young, playing football at 15.

As the AFLW phenomena gathered steam the pocket rocket, with speed and creativity to burn, wondered what if and why not me?

But any disappointment of not being scouted as a slippery 18 year-old goal sneak would be forgotten as motherhood called.

Elaine was first then two years later the twins, which again put football on the backburner.

Roberts would eventually get back to the NT Thunder/Darwin Buffaloes to escape reality as much as anything.

“I was a full-time mum for five years with the kids, so I used to take off for training only because I wanted that freedom to get away,” Roberts said.

“Have a little run around, let everything out and then go back to that routine again.”

It feels like an eternity ago, now living in Melbourne’s northern suburbs with Collingwood’s indigenous programs manager Debby Lovett and commuting daily to the Holden Centre.

Machaelia Roberts is chasing a Colingwood AFLW dream. Picture: Rob Leeson

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Roberts was driven or chaperoned the first few weeks but since returning from an emotion-charged Darwin homecoming, the 25 year-old has grown comfortable with public transport.

“Good thing they’ve got (smartphone) apps you know, they tell you how far to walk, which one to catch, what time it comes, so it has been really good,” Roberts said.

Roberts held court yesterday as 24 athletes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait backgrounds from Athletics Australia’s Raise the Bar Academy visited Collingwood to learn about nutrition.

She spoke openly to the emerging athletes about life outside her “comfort zone” and training in an elite environment.

“That’s (NT) my home. I love it, I miss it heaps,” Roberts said.

“I didn’t know what to do with myself down here … I had to adapt to it.”

As much as Roberts has had to adapt in Melbourne, all roads now lead towards the Magpies’ AFLW season-opener on February 9 for the program’s first indigenous star.

“I still can’t believe it (being the first), Deb says it to me all the time, but slowing getting there and feeling a bit proud of myself,” Roberts said.

“When I look around (at training) I’m the only indigenous out there running around.

“If I run out for my first game, I’ll make sure I play my first game with pride.”

Originally published as Collingwood’s Machaelia Roberts opens up on leaving three children in NT to chase AFLW dream