Riley’s up to prove the doubters wrong
SALLY Riley is prepared for AFLW rivals to write off the Gold Coast Suns when they enter the league in 2020.
It’s what they did in 2017 to her former club Adelaide, before the team of no-names rose above the expected Victorian powerhouses to win the league’s first premiership.
Riley signed with the Suns last week and expects the club to be slugged with the same rhetoric.
“Everyone wrote us off, similar to what they will think about us on the Gold Coast,” Riley said of the year of her greatest success.
“They will think we have no chance but that won’t be the case. “When you look back at our list in 2017 we had next to no big names. Everyone outside Adelaide would have looked at it and asked: ‘Who are these girls?’
“Some people said we won’t win a game.
“The separation of the state and Victoria also plays a part. But it just gave us more confidence to play our best footy without expectations on what we did from there.
“I can take my experiences to Queensland and get that excited buzz at the club. It would be nice to win another flag too.”
Queensland will become the fourth state Riley has lived in after the Victorianborn player moved to the
Northern Territory for work post-school before shifting to Adelaide.
The 28-year-old was part of the leadership group at the Crows in 2017 and 2018 and knows what it takes to build a club into a premiership force from the ground up.
“A lot of it is about what the Gold Coast have already put forward,” Riley said.
“What do we want to stand for? How do we want to be seen among ourselves and on the outside world?
“For a successful culture and club everyone needs to buy in to it. That’s not just the leaders or the coach.
“Everyone can feel a part of that. If you don’t have that and you’re not enjoying your footy you won’t win and won’t have success.”
Riley played four games for Adelaide in 2019 after battling to consistently break into the league’s best team.
She was an emergency for the Crows’ second grand final win at the end of March in an emotional day for Riley.
“That is why I have chosen to continue playing AFLW because I know I can still play at the level and have an impact,” Riley said.
“To play four games in a premiership side is something I am super proud of. I know I have more to give and more learning to do as well.”
THEY WILL THINK WE HAVE NO CHANCE BUT THAT WON’T BE THE CASE. I CAN TAKE MY EXPERIENCES TO QUEENSLAND AND GET THAT EXCITED BUZZ AT THE CLUB