Former Darwin Buffettes star Ashanti Bush thanks NTFL teammates, family after her AFLW Draft selection by Gold Coast Suns

Ashanti Bush has a strong connection to her family and teammates, so there were many people she wanted to thank after being picked at No.8 by Gold Coast in the 2021 AFLW Draft.

Ashanti Bush has been drafted to the Gold Coast Suns’ AFLW squad. Picture: AFLNT Media

ASHANTI Bush has a strong connection to her family and teammates, so there were many people she wanted to thank after being picked at No.8 by Gold Coast in the 2021 AFLW Draft on Tuesday night.

Despite the fact she could be set for a lengthy AFLW career, the 18-year-old will not forget what playing for Darwin Buffettes has done for her long-term football goals.

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And the talented half-forward with no shortage of speed certainly had a strong foundation to springboard her into the big time.

She played in two consecutive Darwin under-18 girls’ grand final-winning teams, before helping Buffettes’ senior women’s team to an NTFL title decider, ultimately losing to PINT, last season.

Bush has been part of a golden generation of young women coming through at Buffettes.

“(Senior women’s captain) Kylie Duggan has been a great help for me, even at school she’s helped me,” Bush said of her mentor, who is a program co-ordinator with the Stars Foundation at Casuarina Senior College.

“The same with (Buffettes teammate) Dom Carbone.

“I’ve been playing alongside Dom at Hawthorn Hawks in the VFLW, which has been great for me.

“Kylie and Dom always inspire me to be better.”

Bush will be able to lean on another familiar face at the Suns – former Palmerston star, Janet Baird.

The 21-year-old was Gold Coast’s No.54 pick last year, before going on to play two senior games last AFLW season.

Ashanti Bush, who hails from the remote community of Beswick east of Katherine, has been drafted by Gold Coast Suns in great news for Territory football. Picture: Rebecca Parker

“I’m excited to join Janet at the Suns. She’s supported me like a sister,” Bush said.

Bush also singled out her older sister Tedisha for special praise on the 2021 AFLW Draft live stream, while surrounded by family at friends at the Michael Long Centre, soon after her selection.

“Tedisha has always supported me,” she said.

“I grew up watching her play.

“She is the reason I started playing footy at 15, and I picked up the game pretty quickly.”

So quickly, in fact, Bush dominated last year’s Big Rivers Grand Final for her victorious Arnhem Crows team, helping them to a 72-point win over Katherine South.

That was just a day after she was judged best-on-ground in the NAB All Stars game at TIO Stadium.

But Bush was quick to again deflect praise to her family and teammates.

“To play alongside a lot of my family at the Crows was really good,” the young talent from Beswick, an Indigenous community about 110km east of Katherine, said.

“I also want to thank my mum Tara and my stepdad Jonathan Jackson for their support.

“I had plenty of family support growing up, and playing footy has given me a lot of happiness.

“It’s helped me improve the confidence I have in myself.”

Bush is aiming – just like her “big sister” Baird – to make her AFLW debut next year. “And I’ll just take it one day at a time,” she said.