HOOPS CALL SUPER CAT
When Geelong announced 18 months ago that it was joining the VFL, the 28-year-old knew there was still time for her to get back into the game she once loved.
With no better coach by her side than husband and Newtown & Chilwell star midfielder Matt, McMahon decided the time was right to test herself again.
“I said to Matt, ‘I’m going to play that’. I felt it was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss out on,” she said.
“We’ve got a one-year-old and we’ve got through that first year, he’s our youngest, so I finally felt like this year I could make the commitment.”
McMahon said Matt was extremely supportive of her desire to play footy.
“He’s been totally for it from day one. He’s super excited,” she said.
“He laughs all the time because I come home and tell him what drills we’re doing and he just laughs because we’re doing the same drills at footy training.
“It’s amazing; just to be able to chat to him about something he’s done his whole life and knows a lot about, it’s awesome.”
McMahon is hoping her natural athleticism is enough to take her far in footy, but isn’t naive about the hard work required.
“I always had dreams to play at the highest level of basketball. I guess with footy, it wasn’t available,” she said.
“The main thing for me is being out of competitive sport for a while, so just working hard at getting my fitness up and touching a footy, every day really.
“If I’m able to (play Round 1), it’s just going to be amazing. I get nervous thinking about it because I’ve still got a long way to go, but I just need to keep working hard and do my best to get my spot.”