SUNS PACK A WEAPON
THE Gold Coast Suns AFLW players are committed to being “168’’ athletes.
“That is how many hours there are in a week,” Suns player Jade Pregelj said.
“We are taking all the right steps and committing ourselves to being 168 athletes.
“We are committed to the process of being a footballer and everything that comes with it and we are supporting each other in doing it.”
It’s a mantra that suits perfectly for the army engineer who thrives in high-pressure events with structure.
“There are many things you learn from any type of structure, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the army,” Pregelj said.
“A workplace that has strict timelines that need to be adhered to really puts you in a good spot for preparing for something like this.
“For me, travelling from West Brisbane then out towards Ipswich for work and then down to the Coast, I have to have two bags, two footy kits ready – one for training and one for gym the next morning.
“I have to have all the recovery gear with me, like rollers and balls.”
Pregelj was selected with pick 86 of the national draft by Gold Coast, capping off an incredible return to football.
The 28-year-old was a pioneer of women’s football in Queensland, winning back-to-back league bestand-fairest medals along with five straight premierships with the Logan Cobras before disappearing from football for seven years.
Pregelj was lured back into the sport by Suns female football manager Fiona McLarty.
Now Pregelj, a former Logan club teammate of Richmond captain Katie
Brennan and Geelong’s Aasta O’Connor, is preparing to play in the AFLW.
Pregelj said she had already marked off the days where she will come up against Brennan and O’Connor, in Round 2 (Richmond) and Round 5 (Geelong).
The defender said the early stages of life as a professional football player had exceeded expectations in many facets while she had lent on teammates to find the right balance between her work with the army and Suns.
“It is everything football needs to be here in my opinion,” Pregelj said. “We have all the facilities and the highperformance staff are amazing.
“Chopping back into military life or into my personal life, it’s hard to change your mindset. You want to go all-in on one thing but you need to keep pulling yourself back out of it.
“Maintaining the body is easy enough to continue but it’s the headspace you need to be able to switch quickly.
“I have looked up to (doctor) Tiarna Ernst because she comes from the operating table and on to the footy ground. She has been a great mentor for me in that space.”