KATELYN POPE didn’t realise how much she wanted another shot at the AFLW.
Sitting in the newly renovated clubrooms at North Adelaide’s Prospect headquarters on draft night last Tuesday, the Roosters premiership player became anxious, suddenly realising how close she was.
When her name was eventually called by Port Adelaide with the 12th pick and Power coach Lauren Arnell walked in and hugged her, emotion took hold and Pope was overwhelmed.
“When it did happen, there was a bit of relief,” the 27-year-old told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“I decided I needed this opportunity for all of the work I had put in behind the scenes that people may not have seen.
“Then it all just came out on the night. I couldn’t voice it.
“I remember hugging Lauren when she came and gave me the guernsey and I inappropriately said to her ‘about bloody time’.
“I just wanted it so badly and I never knew how much I wanted it until it was right there in front of me.”
Pope had enjoyed a taste of AFLW as an injury replacement player at West Coast in 2021.
Without a pre-season and away from home in Perth, she learnt a lot about the game and was craving another chance.
While she comes to Alberton as one of the older players on the list, she is still very raw in footy terms, having yet to rack up 50 games since taking up the game as a 23-year-old.
“In the SANFL they were calling me a veteran but I haven’t even played 50 games of footy yet,” Pope smiled.
“I’ve had about 30 SANFL games, maybe 10 games with Broadview and five games with West Coast so I’m still pretty raw on the field.
“But life experiences and experiences in elite sport have me well placed.”
While footy has become her number one, cricket still holds a special place in Pope’s heart.
From the age of ten when she first picked up a bat, she was earmarked for a career in cricket; put through state programs in her teens and given a contract for South Australia immediately after finishing school.
She soon found herself playing with the South Australia Scorpions and then in the WBBL with the Adelaide Strikers.
But when her contract wasn’t renewed after five seasons, Pope was devastated. Picking herself up and deciding to try something new with friends, it was Aussie Rules Football that gave her the much-needed camaraderie she had lost.
Despite coming to the game at 23, relatively late in the current climate, Pope made the most of her transition, going unbeaten throughout a season with Broadview before joining North Adelaide in the SANFLW.
A natural athlete, the short but powerful redhead soon caught the eye of West Coast’s AFLW side and found herself in Perth just weeks before the 2021 season as an injury replacement player.
She managed six games before being delisted and went back to the Roosters, though was invited to be a train on player with Port Adelaide’s inaugural AFLW team in 2022.
“I was contracted with cricket for five or six years and then I lost cricket,” Pope explained.
“It was devastating for me but at the same time I decided to play footy, which helped fill the void of training two or three times per week, and there was that camaraderie and social bonding.
“I still had that drive to do well at club cricket so I stayed at Kensington and decided I wanted to stick it up them with a really good season. I had a really good season at club cricket and still got my cricket fix, which helped bring back that passion for the game.
“The year after, I started SANFLW footy and it got a bit too much, but now I still do T20 cricket which is all just before Christmas. I’ve kind of told all the girls I might be done with cricket now.”
A strong runner who loves to hunt the ball, Pope averaged 17.2 disposals, 4.2 tackles and 3.4 inside 50s in North Adelaide’s 2022 Premiership season, and is tracking better in 2023.
Off-field she works for the South Australian Cricket Association in strength and conditioning for junior athletes, which she says provides balance to her life.
Having had a taste of life in the AFLW and experience in elite sport, Pope is now determined to make her mark on the competition in her second chance.
“I feel like I didn’t really make a stamp on cricket as much as I wanted to. I worked on myself away from sport in terms of trying to develop a career, and enjoyed time with family and friends because I had put so much time and effort into cricket and so much pressure on myself that I ended up imploding,” Pope said.
“Coming back into sport, through footy, I never expected to get back into a high level. It was just about having fun.
“I think it’s way different this time. I know a lot of the staff already, I know the team, being a train-on player last year and the group was so welcoming, and then just being at home helps.
“Having a pre-season as well will be great. More than anything it was a bit of a relief I got the opportunity again because I know that I can do a lot more with knowing the structures and having a full pre-season rather than just being thrown in.
“I feel like I’ll be better prepared this time. I’m literally in my prime now.
“As an 18-year-old being contracted in cricket, I had no idea what I was doing, especially not with my body.
“Probably the mental side of it, I was a nervous wreck. But now I feel ready. I’m so ready to give it all that I can and make the most of it.”
Pope will join fellow draftees Jasmin Stewart and Georgie Jaques at Alberton in the coming weeks, once a date for pre-season training is confirmed.
