Whirlwind journey for key Cats recruits
ONE was in London, the other in Hong Kong.
Erin Hoare and Anna Teague departed Australia as Melbourne players and returned in the hoops of Geelong.
It was a whirlwind period for the pair, who are back in familiar territory at Kardinia Park and ready to resume their football journeys.
“I think I was over in England at the time, so I had to do a whole lot of paperwork over there, which was really, really exciting,” Hoare said.
Teague added: “There was a lot of thinking prior to that, it was pretty tough, and being overseas it felt a bit strange.”
Making their AFLW debuts with the Demons, Hoare and Teague admitted it was tough to walk out on Melbourne.
“When I was doing my pros and cons list I thought it would help make the decision easy,” Teague said.
“I think the biggest factors for me were the travel. I’ve had issues with my back in the past and being local and the stadium being so close to home meant that it reduced the travel time. In terms of pros, both clubs had the same programs, people, coaching … everything, so it mainly came down to travel.”
Hoare mulled over the decision for months, unsure whether to stay or go.
“Melbourne gave me my first opportunity to play, and I did enjoy my time there,” Hoare said.
“The opportunity to come down to Geelong, I guess, was something I was really, really excited about.
“But I just wanted to make sure that it was the right decision for me, for the club, for teammates, and that type of thing. But, yeah, obviously made the right decision and I’m superstoked to be here.”
The clincher for Hoare was the faith shown by AFLW coach Paul Hood and the coaching staff.
“My first football opportunity I ever got was here at Geelong, and I guess from the very start everyone’s made me feel so welcome, being a new person to the game,” Hoare said.
“The teammates I’ve been exposed to here have been absolutely phenomenal, in terms of their support for newcomers to the sport, and I’ve been able to learn a whole lot from them. But, most importantly, Paul Hood, the coach at Geelong, is a fantastic teacher, leader and overall coach. So to play under him in the AFL league is really exciting and something I’m really happy about.”
Brother-in-law and former Essendon assistant coach Mark Neeld played a significant part in Teague’s move to the Cattery.
“I was certainly not asking for his opinion about what I should do, but asking how I should approach making the decision, and he gave me some advice that helped me figure that out,” Teague said.
One of the first of 13 signings for the Cats’ inaugural AFLW side, Teague admitted she was excited about the shape of the list.
“I think one of the really important things about the list they are putting together is there are so many locals," she said. It’s great that you can build a list around local people and add value to that list with people like Mel Hickey, Phoebe McWilliams, Aasta O’Connor to really drive the leadership and have experience in the AFLW as well. It’s going to be pretty exciting.”