‘Ready for battle’: Defence force AFLW stars dig deep

AFLW Lions stars Kate Lutkins and Rheanne Lugg have trained for active combat, but they face a battle of a different kind at Saturday’s grand final against Adelaide.

Kate Lutkins (L) & Rheanne Lugg are both serving members of the ADF and players for the Brisbane Lions. Saturday will see them face off against the Adelaide Crows in the AFLW Grand Final held at the Adelaide Oval. Picture: James Elsby

Brisbane Lions stars Kate Lutkins and Rheanne Lugg have both trained for active combat, but they face a battle of a different kind in Saturday’s AFLW grand final against Adelaide.

While normally gun defender and Brisbane mainstay Corporal Lutkins divides her time between driving trucks in the ADF and kicking goals on the field, this week has been all about the latter.

“I’m so excited to get out there with this team of girls,” she says.

“They’re a bunch of legends and I love them like sisters. Just to experience this with them and get around them is great, and hopefully we can come away with the doughnuts at the end of the day.”

Lutkins, who can usually be found driving 60-tonne tactical military trucks in the transport unit and was also deployed to Melbourne to assist with contact-tracing efforts during last year’s COVID outbreak, said the two careers had more in common than you might think.

“Playing elite sport and being in the army both require being quite fit. They really go hand-in-hand,” she says.

“What we do at footy influences my training and enhances my footy career, and it’s the same with the army when it comes to leading, mentoring and learning through work.”

It’s her grit and determination that Lutkins — who also plays for the All-Australian team and won the Lion’s 2018 best and fairest award — has become famous for.

She hopes that by digging deep the Lions will be able to push over the line to defeat reigning premiers the Crows, in a repeat of the 2017 grand final which Brisbane lost by a frustrating six points.

The Lions lost their second run at premiership glory in 2018 against the Bulldogs by the same margin, a loss that Lutkins says stings less as the years go by.

Alongside her on Saturday will be teammate and ADF colleague Rheanne Lugg, an army electrician who will be playing against her former team.

Lutkins says it was at an ADF footy two years ago game that the prospect of a switch for Lugg from Adelaide to Brisbane arose.

“It was done on the spot, pretty much within 48 hours,” she says.

“She’s a really good mate and an amazing human, a ripper footy player and an amazing athlete.

“I am stoked to have her here as part of the club.”