ALL AUSTRALIAN, Best and Fairest winner and as Navy Blue as they come.
This weekend, Brea Moody will notch her 50th AFLW game and become just the second player to do so entirely as a Blue.
“It’s pretty unreal,” Moody said.
“Hitting 50 games in itself is pretty special and to be the second player to do that, to play 50 games solely for Carlton – and the other person is Darcy Vescio.
“I never would have thought that I would be second – there are so many names in the competition that started with us here at Carlton and I probably would have put myself at the bottom of the list if we were talking about them a few years ago.”
From self-confessed humble beginnings, Moody never imagined she would reach such a significant milestone, discouraged in her early days by the feeling of lagging behind her peers.
“I came into the competition with one season of footy under my belt in comparison to a lot of my teammates who'd been playing for years, and I just constantly felt like I was playing catch-up,” she said.
“My skills weren't good enough, my fitness wasn't there, and it took a little while for me to realise that I was in the position because I had other strengths and those strengths were what got me there.
“Looking back over the last five or six years, I think if you go back to the first one, I wouldn't have thought that I would ever hit 50 games.”
The turning point came after Moody’s second season, with a realisation dawning that if she wanted to continue pursuing AFLW, she wanted to be the best she could be.
“It probably didn't help that I went to America for six months at the end of my second season.
“I won the joint Best and Fairest and then decided I was going to go off to college, spent six months in America – did a bit of traveling and stayed on campus and ended up coming back with a month until the third season and I was 10 kilos heavier than when I left and just in the wrong mindset to come back into footy.
“It was that season where I probably struggled the most with footy.
“I'd come to training and didn't know what I wanted to get out of it. That was the season that I got dropped - for the first and only time - but it was a bit of a wake-up call.”
From that moment, Moody’s perspective changed.
“I said to myself, if I'm going to do this, I’m going to give it my absolute best shot," she said.
“I worked super hard and got myself mentally right and physically right. I felt the best that I ever had and was so motivated to continue increasing my fitness and getting the best out of myself.”
From her first season of AFLW in 2017, to a Carlton AFLW Best and Fairest win in 2018 and an All-Australian selection in 2021, the past 49 games have marked considerable growth for Moody, both on and off the field.
“I've been able to work out what I want to do and where I want to spend my time – and that’s with footy,” she said
“I finished my uni studies in Exercise and Sport Science, and I think that only cemented my love for health and fitness and trying to be the best athlete I can be. On the field, my fitness each year has improved and hopefully my skills have – I think they have.
“I know I've still got so much more to go in both of those areas but I'm just setting myself some goals year on year and trying to be better than I was the last season.”
Despite now boasting a decorated football resume, Moody’s highlight of six years spent at AFLW level hits closer to home.
“Playing against [twin sister] Celine a couple times, I know that's not a league Best and Fairest or an All-Australian nomination, but it's pretty special to be out there alongside her even though we're on opposing teams,” she said.
“When I started AFLW she wasn't able to play because she was in the army so two years into the competition in that third season she came in, and it's been pretty cool to line up against her on a couple of occasions."
Recently named within the Game Changers’ leadership group as an emerging leader, Moody’s goals have shifted with time as she has evolved within the playing group.
“For those first five years of footy here at Carlton, I was probably focused on myself: getting my headspace right, my fitness right, my skills right and I'm finally in a position now where I can look outside myself and help others.
“I understand that it may not be someone's strength to be the fastest two-kilometre runner or the fastest sprinter and I'm able to lean on my experience to help others and push them through some tough times that they may be having in footy, or if they're comparing themselves to others, to help them understand that there's a reason that they're here and they're not supposed to be like that other person.”
As for the future? The sky is the limit.
“I'm just willing to learn and who knows where it's going to take me in a few years time.”
