“I JUST try to put my best foot forward and take every opportunity that I get so young indigenous girls and boys see that this is a pathway they can take.”

Proud of her heritage.

Carlton’s Natalie Plane is focused on the contribution she can make towards the integration of AFL into indigenous communities.

Plane is a Kamilaroi woman, with her family coming from Gunnedah (near Tamworth) in New South Wales.

“I didn’t grow up on country: my grandfather - who is Aboriginal - moved down here for work,” Plane said.

Plane had the chance to reflect on the participation of young Indigenous girls in the lead-up to the Game Changers’ trip to Alice Springs.

The increase in participation is something that excites Plane.

“Each year the numbers have been increasing which is really awesome,” she said.

“You see it in the men’s games with the likes of Eddie Betts, Cyril Rioli and Daniel Rioli in terms of how much power and impact they have on young indigenous people.

“Seeing that we might be from a rural community or be from somewhere in Melbourne, there are pathways for young Aboriginal kids to play football.

“Now having the AFLW, girls can also have the same dream.”

Plane has lived out her dream ever since being drafted as an inaugural Blue: she combines life as a Game Changer with her day job as a landscaper.

Having played every game in the season so far, Plane - who has made the transition to half back - credits her performance to her hard work over the pre-season.

“My own performance has been good: I’ve been playing really consistent since the start,” she said.

“I’ve played every game so far which hasn’t been the case in past seasons. I’m really happy with that.

“I just made sure in the off season I worked really hard on my fitness, so I could play more games. I’m really happy with how I am going.”

With this marking her fourth season in the competition, Plane admits that she had to get used to the lifestyle of working, training and playing.

She said the investment from the Club has been something that has shone through and allowed her to play her best football.

“I’ll just let them know and train at 80 per cent, or if I’m feeling good then I’ll hit hard in the gym,” she said.

“I just go off how I feel and how my body feels — I think that’s really important, especially when a lot of us are playing footy and working full-time.”

With this weekend’s trip to Alice Springs in the offing, it presents a crucial point of Carlton’s season.

On the hunt for their fourth consecutive win, Plane remains confident in the team’s chances against the side one above the Blues on the Conference B ladder.

“They’re obviously going to be tough competition: if we just continue to play our brand of footy and trust each other as we have been over the past couple of weeks, I think we should go alright against them,” she said.

“It will be a tough game and it’ll go for four quarters but hopefully we can come out on top at the end.”