THE first person born in Samoa to pull on the Navy Blue, and just the second in the history of the game, behind North Melbourne’s Aaron Edwards.

A five-year-old Mua Laloifi moved from Samoa to New Zealand, unaware of the existence of Australian Rules.

In 10 years’ time she would be on Australian shores embarking on a pathway to playing the sport at the elite level.

Laloifi first moved to Australia with her rugby-mad family for her brother (one of her four siblings) to pursue his dream of playing Rugby Sevens.

While it was basketball that was Laloifi’s first sport of choice, a fortuitous fill-in for a work colleague’s football team saw her take to the field for the first time.

Her natural talent and quick uptake of the game led her to a trial day with Collingwood's VFLW side – developing an affinity for the black and white of the Magpies, which mirrored the colours of her beloved All Blacks.

She played five games in 2018 before rupturing her ACL.

“Going through injuries puts a lot of perspective on what you do,” Laloifi said.

“With my journey, you get a rolled ankle at basketball and you’re out for a week or two, but when you get hit by an ACL, you’re out for 12 months. It puts a lot of perspective plus a lot of drive to get where I am now, what I am now.

“It was a blessing in disguise, because it made me realise how much I loved it and wanted to pursue it.”

Conquering the road to rehabilitation, she returned via the Western Bulldogs’ VFLW side, becoming a cornerstone of the backline who helped their team surge to a Grand Final.

Simply making it to the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft was a milestone in itself, made even sweeter when Carlton selected the mature-age recruit with pick No.52.

 “I felt really welcomed when I first came into Carlton,” she said.

“It’s been a rollercoaster with footy, but I’ve found a home at the Carlton Football Club.”

That sense of belonging has extended to Laloifi’s loved ones, with fiancée Rachael Beatson echoing the shared sentiment.

“The camaraderie here at the Carlton Football Club is excellent, and I guess that’s a testament to the Club stemming from the CEO down to the support staff and volunteers here,” Beatson said.

“They have welcomed not only the new draftees with open arms, but all the family members. That support and family, you feel that here at Carlton.”

Having been by her partner’s side for nearly a decade, Beatson has been a key cog in Laloifi’s support network, watching her football journey unfold alongside her family.

“It’s been great to reflect on Mua’s journey. Her family has seen that through local levels of sport, transitioning to VFLW and then to the professional league as well. It’s been great that her family can be part of that.

“It hasn’t come without hard work and determination from Mua to build her craft and physicality: it has taken her a long time to get to where she is today.”

While the Laloifi family’s knowledge of the game their daughter plays may be limited - albeit developing - their support has never wavered.

“They’re here at every game and always giving support, either in our family group chat or directly to Mua whether that’s after a win, a loss or - this year - some draws,” Beatson said.

“It’s phenomenal to see them supporting, and it’s great that AFL is really reaching out wide and reaching different nationalities as well which is fantastic.”

The rules may still be somewhat of a mystery, but Laloifi is still able to connect to her family through the language of sport.

“Dad is still trying to get his head around the football goals! He didn't understand why I was on the other side and not kicking at goal," Laloifi said.

"I was going ‘Dad, I’m a defender, I can’t kick it in our goals!’

“Football is a way where I was able to communicate to my parents. I’ve always loved sport growing up and football is definitely a foreign sport in our family. It’s been good trying to educate my parents and also educate myself on the rules.

“It brings us closer every time we go over on a Sunday lunch. Dad will have our game on and when we lose, I just want to turn it off, but I guess he’s so proud that he wants to play it in the background. It’s been great having them here and watching out on the ground.”

While sport has provided a source of unity within Laloifi’s family, it has also allowed her to find her own community within Australia.

 “A lot of the people that I’ve met in Australia follow football. It became a culture thing. In New Zealand, we didn’t have football: it was more rugby," she said.

"Coming here, you had to find friends, and they would all say ‘let’s go to the footy’ — you would just have no idea what they meant. When AFLW came along and I started to play, I dove into the culture a little bit more and felt a passion for it.

“The best thing about it was building my relationships with my teammates and also the staff here, knowing that post-football, you’ll have some long-term friends.

“Being included in a community, I love that.”