As a sports agent Alex Saundry is used to working with AFL footballers. Now she’s one herself as she begins training as part of the GIANTS’ AFL Women’s team.
Saundry has made the move from Melbourne to Sydney to follow her dream, a scenario that seemed out of the realms of possibility when she gave up the game for five years.
“I went through the Youth Girls pathways in Victoria in 2010 and 2011 and played for state there,” Saundry said following the AFL Women’s team’s first day on the track at Tom Wills Oval.
“I played first year women’s and broke my collar bone so I had five years off and didn’t think I was going to come back to footy.
“I went through the coaching pathways through the Youth Girls state pathways and then went into VFL women’s last year and had an assistant coaching role and found the love for the game again.
“I started playing again this year and then probably about halfway through the season I thought I wanted to give this a real crack and started to ramp up my training to hopefully play in AFLW.”
Saundry was one of the final pieces of the puzzle when the defender joined the GIANTS as a free agent last month.
As one of five Victorians in the side, she’s made the move north for the next five months to be part of the inaugural AFLW competition.
Pre-season training officially commenced on Monday night with a welcome and induction with the player hitting the track for the first time on Tuesday.
“It’s been wonderful,” Saundry said.
“It’s a great track with great facilities and I’m so excited to be here, there’s a big buzz around the group which is fantastic to see on day one.
“It’s a bit of a change, moving out of home for the first time and giving myself a bit of a break and a step back from the hustle and bustle that Melbourne is.
“That was probably a big point of a difference for me, going let’s do something different, let’s change up the routine and what was always expected of me to do.
“I wanted to switch that up a bit, move out of home and experience something new with a great bunch of girls.”
Saundry has been able to continue her job as a sports agent, now working out of a new Sydney office, and already has strong connections to the club.
“I love my job there, I love the clients I get to work with and the team back at Connor Sports I can’t thank enough,” she said.
“We’ve got a great bunch of GIANTS boys there, they’ve already been welcoming and took me out for brekky on Monday morning which was really nice.”
Now training is underway, the countdown is on until Saundry is one of a new generation of GIANTS who run out in the orange and charcoal as part of the historic new competition.
And she’s ready to lead by example to set the standard at her new club, in a new city.
“I’m a big believer that you don’t need a label to be a captain or a leader in any capacity,” Saundry said.
“For me it’s about making sure these young kids particularly, who haven’t had as much game sense as we have had in Victoria, as much success as we’ve had in Victoria, to really help them and mentor them through that.
“It’s phenomenal how much it’s grown and how much the girls here have got such a buzz.
“There’s no egos here which I’ve been loving. We know it’s a team sport and we've got to do it all together to get the best results.”
