FROM a rookie-listed cross-coder who simply wanted to play one match at AFLW level, to Club captain on the brink of reaching 50 games at the elite level.

It’s safe to say that Kerryn Peterson has come a long way from the basketballer from Bendigo.

“When I first got here, my only intention was to play one game and just tick that box because, in my mind, it justified the fact that I changed sports and gave up a career in basketball to come into this unknown AFLW world,” Peterson said.

Peterson spent the majority of her sporting career as a point guard, making her debut in the Women’s National Basketball League at 15 years of age for the Bendigo Spirit.

She took up a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, before going on to represent the Under-19 Australian squad at two World Championships, one as captain.

She recorded over 150 games at WNBL level across the Spirit, Bulleen Boomers and Adelaide Lightning, before the allure of a new challenge captured her attention.

“I’d obviously sat back and watched the first season of AFLW and was just mesmerised by, first and foremost, the athleticism of the players at the time and how much fun they were having,” she said.

“It was something that I was quite jealous of watching them run around and play a game that I never had the opportunity as a junior to play, other than at sporting carnivals for school.”

Looking back, Peterson admits that stepping away from an established career in basketball was a risk – but she hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s funny because the decision to come to Carlton was a really easy one to make but on reflection, when you think about what I had to give up to do it, it’s probably more daunting now than what it was at the time.

“Probably on reflection, it should’ve been more of a difficult decision when I look back at that time, but I've loved every minute of it and I don't regret it for a second.”

Now a three-time All Australian, football has been quite the journey for Peterson, who has progressed through the ranks to serve as Carlton’s co-captain for two seasons before taking the reins solo for the previous two seasons.

“I feel like I've grown so much as a person and as a leader amongst that. I've said it before, but I'm so thankful for Katie Loynes and what she was able to help guide and teach me in the first two years of our captaincy together and I'll forever be thankful for the lessons and support that she gave me through that time.

“When the opportunity presented to do it solo, I was probably a little bit nervous at the time and again, that self-doubt comes in: you wonder if you’re capable of doing it and ask some questions of yourself.

“I think that it made it so much easier when you consider the support that I've had around me through my journey, obviously with different vice captains along the way. I've got a lot to thank for people like Darcy Vescio, Elise O’Dea and Jess Dal Pos and the players that have been around me and supported me through that journey.”

Off the field, sitting on the AFLPA Board, Peterson is proud to have made considerable ground in paving the way for the competition’s future.

“I think how quickly the competition has grown, now to have 18 teams is something that I probably didn't see happening in my career, in the time that I was going to spend in AFLW,” she said.

“For us as a playing group to have campaigned so hard for that and to give every club an opportunity and every young footballer the opportunity to play for the club that they grew up barracking for and the amount of opportunities that it's provided, I think is probably the biggest thing that as an AFLW community that we've been able to achieve.

"The most recent CBA that we were able to reach with the AFL, that's an absolute game changer as far as the professionalism for AFLW itself and the players.”

And while it may not be any time soon, when Peterson does hang up the boots, she wants a simple legacy to be left behind her.

“We want this club to be incredibly welcoming to anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of it, to come in and work hard and grow not only as a player, but as a person as well.

"I guess my goal is to empower the next generation of young players and young leaders in this club to really drive it forward.”