Meg grabs her chance
Ex-Bulldog out to show she belongs
FORMER Western Bulldogs defender Meg McDonald says she never gave up hope of returning to the AFLW.
The new Geelong signing will be one of the more experienced players on the inaugural list, despite managing only one season for the Dogs in 2017 before being delisted.
Two seasons at VFLW level with the Darebin Falcons, however, have rounded off the rough edges and made McDonald ready for a return to the big league.
“I knew with expansion the opportunity would be there as long as I was committed enough,” she said.
“I really felt my first year I had a sense of impostor syndrome. I had only played (football) for a year and it was great to get the opportunity then, but I probably wasn’t ready to perform the way I would have liked to.
“I was disappointed to miss out last year, but it gave me an opportunity to work on things over summer. I’ve had a good VFL season, so I was very excited to get the call.”
In fact, it was a missed call from VFL operations manager Ben Waller that McDonald eventually returned to find out the Cats were interested.
“I got a missed call from a number and I thought I’d call back,” she said.
“A guy answered the phone and said, ‘Hi Meg’, and I said, ‘Who is this?’ and he said, ‘It’s Ben from Geelong’.
“That came early August and I had some teammates who were here already and who were very positive about the club, and then I think I came down the next week and they were kind enough to show me around.”
McDonald said she did not need convincing from Falcons teammates Mel Hickey or Aasta O’Connor to take up the Cats’ offer.
“All the Darebin girls relate to the sense of community down here and the kind of club it is,” she said.
“I was stoked to come on board when I got the opportunity.
“I hope to be able to use this second opportunity at AFL to really try to take it with both hands and show some more leadership. I think I’m more experienced myself now.
“I don’t mind a bit of versatility. I’ve played back predominantly this year, so I hope I can lock down one of those positions.”