Versatile Huntington sure to get chance in AFLW
IT’S a question of where Isabel Huntington will play in the AFL Women’s competition, not if.
The Western Bulldogs could secure the 18-year-old with pick No.1 in Wednesday’s draft, or she could slip through to Collingwood at No.3 – essentially pick No.2 as Freman- tle can’t recruit Victoria players who have nominated to stay in their home state.
It’s clear why she’s a hot topic. A tall centre-half forward with great skills, she can also play in the midfield.
But Huntington hasn’t played a game this season after injuring her ACL in a girls’ match in September last year.
“It has been tough in a sense because the other girls can go out there and smash it and I’m sitting on the sidelines and I can’t really prove myself,” Huntington said.
“But ... it’s allowed me to make sure my body’s 100 per cent. It kind of takes the pressure off. I didn’t have to go out every week this year and say, ‘oh God, the recruiters are watching me, if I screw up one kick then I’m not going to get drafted’.
“So to a degree, (there’s been) less pressure, but it’s been a tough year.”
Her focus has been on her rehabilitation as well as Year 12 studies, with the aim of studying medicine at university.
“The year’s gone really quickly,” she said.
“I think doing the knee, it freed up a bit of time to focus on my studies more.”
Huntington has played football since she was five, first at East Sandringham and then South Melbourne before she joined her current club, VFL Women’s side Melbourne Uni.
Her grandfather Ian Huntington was a VFL umpire, her cousin is GWS Giants firstround daft pick Will Setterfield while her dad Peter played for VAFA side Uni Blacks.
“I’ve been into other sports to a degree but nothing to the extent where I would have devoted a lot of my time to that because I always knew I loved footy,” she said.
“Even though for a large period of time there weren’t any opportunities, I couldn’t pull myself away from it.”