“I JUST love playing footy.”
From playing with and against some of the competition’s best, to being involved in themed rounds that have had impact far beyond the field – put simply, Elise O’Dea just loves football.
When tasked with pinpointing a highlight ahead of her 50th AFLW match this weekend, she struggled to identify just one among a sea of memories.
“I've played with some fantastic, well-known stars – I've played with Karen Paxman, Daisy Pearce, Kerryn Peterson, Darcy Vescio, Jess Dal Pos,” O’Dea said.
“I love playing against Ebony Marinoff and Chelsea Randall, just two players I really respect and love watching go about their business.”
But perhaps most significant have been the moments she’s shared with others.
“I think a lot of special moments also come at the end of games where you see your family and you see how much joy you bring them by playing. They don't care how you play or if you played well: they just enjoy watching you play, and I love that I can bring my family that sort of joy.”
However, to even reach the elite level was something that the two-time All Australian once only dreamed of.
“I think I hoped but I never thought it would eventuate to this and I would be paid to play. It’s fantastic and I still don't quite believe it, but I’m super rapt to be here.”
A football journey that she can’t fathom has only spanned 49 games at AFLW level, O’Dea grew up in Canberra before moving to Victoria where she became a premiership captain at the Darebin Falcons and, eventually, the Melbourne Football Club’s first pick in the inaugural AFLW draft.
O’Dea looks back at her time spent at the Demons fondly. The club - which she went on to captain - not only gave her the chance to play football at the elite level, but it was the one she grew up supporting from childhood.
“It was such a great experience,” she said.
“They gave me the opportunity to live out my dream and play football to the highest standard and at the highest level at the club I grew up supporting. I was super rapt to play there.
“When it came to its end, I didn't know if I'd get another opportunity and I got that opportunity at Carlton. I have loved this just as much, if not more.”
Since moving to Carlton, O’Dea has recognised a shift in her mindset with maturity granting her a new perspective on football.
“I think when I first came into football, it's such a focus on just one, getting a game and then obviously once you cement yourself in the side, it's then that pressure on yourself to perform.
“I think I've learned as you get older, it's so much more about the team than yourself. It's about helping others out on the field and bringing the best out of them for the team to improve and to be successful.
“When you're young, you’re a bit consumed by the game and wanting to do your best and thinking that just involves you playing the best, but getting older, you know that it's a team game for a reason. You have to have all players contributing.”
While plenty has changed on an individual note for O’Dea, she has also witnessed significant change across the AFLW competition more widely, which she hopes will mark an upbringing for young footballers which she wasn’t fortunate enough to have.
“It's so cool now that I just turn on the TV and there's a 50/50 chance that it'll be a men's or women's football match, which just didn't happen when I was growing up. I love the fact that that will just be normal for kids in the younger generations just seeing that it's a normal thing to do.
“It's fun being at the start of these sort of things. It's been challenging and there's been lots of different things that we have had to face throughout the journey, but it seems to improve every year.”
She joked that the end of her career may not be far away, but beyond her 50th game this weekend, O’Dea still has plenty to give.
“I get to watch and play with some of the new up-and-coming players and try and teach them a few things.
“I'm just really loving the challenge of trying to adapt and go with it.”
