KOENEN ROARING TO NUMBER 25

TOWNSVILLE Australian football product Breanna Koenen will achieve a milestone few have achieved in the AFLW.

The Brisbane Lions defender, who started her AFLW journey on the field for Magnetic Island Magpies, will notch her milestone 25th game in the national competition.

Koenen will take the field at Brisbane’s Hickey Park against GWS Giants tomorrow, a far cry from Horseshoe Bay Sports Ground.

As a junior, Koenen would ride the ferry and bus to football before making the return trip in the afternoon, spending longer in transit than she did on the field.

“There was no pathway back then, I played it because I love it,” she said. “I’m just lucky and had a few good people around me.”

Koenen said she was “just lucky” to play professional football for the Lions let alone rack up a milestone only few have achieved. But it is a match she will not let slip by. “I am pretty excited. You just go about the game the same way as you normally do but it is a bit more special getting to 25,” she said.

“It should be a good game, hopefully we can get the win.”

Koenen’s milestone has come off the back of hard work. She shifted from the backline to more of a midfield and half back role.

She pushed hard in the pre-season to be considered for the switch, shaving one minute off her 2km time trial.

“Fitness was a big focus for me this year,” she said.

Koenen works as a physio and comes from a successful sporting family – sister Cara plays for the Sunshine Coast Lightning and younger brother Kirk plays in the VFL.