FROM the double blues to the Navy Blues, from basketball to football: it's been quite the journey for new Game Changer Jess Good.
Arriving as a free agent the day after the 2021 NAB AFLW Draft, Good - a ruck from Sturt in the SANFL - signed for the Blues after an impressive first full season in the game.
With the ruck position a clear focus for the Blues, Good stands at 185cm and excelled both in the air and around the ground: she averaged over 11 disposals and 28 hitouts per game in the SANFL.
“My body work is probably my biggest strength, being able to get into that good position and I love a cheeky handball and a kick here and there,” Good said.
“I don’t mind a ground ball every now and then.”
Arriving to complement the outstanding Brea Moody in the ruck, Good has only been playing footy for the last two years.
In a past life, she was spending her previous years playing basketball, most famously with the Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL.
As she makes the transition from South Australia to Victoria, there'll be at least one familiar face: during her time with the Lightning, Good was teammates with none other than Kerryn Harrington.
“‘Kez’ and I played for Adelaide Lightning a couple of years back now and we had a ball, so I’m stoked to be on a team with her and for her to be captain, that is just incredible,” she said.
“She’s always encouraged me to play and finally, I’ve made the move and I won’t look back.”
As well as seeking the advice of her former teammate, Good is friends with Jess Foley of the Adelaide Crows, who also came from a professional basketball background.
“I’m quite good friends with Jess Foley and she made the transfer: she made it look so easy, it’s not that easy,” she said.
“The skills do transfer really well, a lot of basketballers are doing the transfer and I decided 'why not give it a crack'.”
Good has had a whirlwind journey over the past couple of years, going from the WNBL to London, then back to Adelaide, switching to football and now getting drafted to the Carlton Football Club.
Good admits she hasn’t really thought of the process too much, and is just enjoying her life as it comes.
“I’ve just been riding the wave,” she said.
“It is an absolute whirlwind and I'm just taking every opportunity that I can to enjoy as much as possible and be the best I can.”
Overall, Good is just happy to be a Game Changer, looking forward to getting stuck into it with the rest of the team at IKON Park.
“I’ve heard only good things about Carlton and I just can’t wait to be among such a great culture, a great group of girls and it feels like a good fit for me,” she said.
“I hear the ‘Baggers are a great cheersquad and give great support and I can’t wait to be amongst it and be a ‘Bagger.”
