WHILE it’s every footballer’s dream to play at the top level, it’s also every footballer’s dream to win a premiership.
Only a select group of people can say they’ve done both – with former Natya resident Eden Zanker now a member of that illustrious group.
She helped Melbourne claim a heart-stopping four-point grand final win over Brisbane last Sunday, the club’s first AFLW premiership.
Zanker spoke with The Guardian this week as the celebrations were still clearly in full swing.
“I think it’s only just sinking in now, a few days later, to be honest,” the 23-year-old said.
“It’s the first year where there’s been 18 teams in the competition and for us to have achieved what we did on Sunday with such an amazing bunch of people was really very special.
“It’s not just the playing group, but all the staff, the high-performance team, the coaches – it really does mean a lot to me and it’s definitely still sinking in, but I’m just going to take every day as it comes and enjoy the emotions that come with winning a grand final.
“We have the best and fairest on Saturday and I think it’ll sink in a bit more when we have everyone back together again.
“It’s an amazing feeling though and an amazing achievement for the club and the people involved.
“The celebrations haven’t finished though and I’m sure they’ll continue for a little while yet.”
Much of the talk before the grand final centred on Melbourne veteran Daisy Pearce, with the champion midfielder desperate to add AFLW premiership player to her CV.
That achievement is now complete for Pearce, with talk now centring on whether she’ll announce her retirement and move into either coaching or continue her career in the media – or play on.
Regardless of what she – along with fellow veteran Karen Paxman – decides, Zanker is proud to have shared the history making moment with them both.
“I know I’m speaking on behalf of the team when I say this, but it almost feels like we’ve helped tick something off for them that means so much,” Zanker said.
“They’re the marquee players of this competition and they’ve given so much to not only our club and their teammates, but the competition as a whole and for women in general – it’s something that we’ve achieved together that can never be taken away from us.
“I was talking with Daisy on our way home and she was saying we’re the first Melbourne AFLW premiership team, in the first year of 18 teams and we’ll now be forever linked together as a result.
“It’ll always be a special moment for me, not just because we won, but because I’ve been able share it with Daisy and ‘Pax’ (Paxman) and that I’ve been able to share in this amazing moment with those girls and the team as a whole.”
With Zanker’s dad Jason in the full swing of harvest, he was unable to travel north to see his daughter play, while mum Kylie also missed out on watching her daughter create history live, with both having to either watch the big game on TV or listen on the radio.
That mattered little to the newest member of the premiership club however, with Zanker quick to point out that her biggest fans were also her biggest inspiration.
“They both bought tickets and dad was going to come up – but unfortunately when you have to get barley off, you have to get barley off,” Zanker said.
“Unfortunately, it just fell at a bad time with harvest and he had to stay back home and drive the chaser bin and listen to the game instead.
“Mum didn’t get to the game either, but they’ve both helped me get to where I am today and helped me so much along the journey that I’ve been on.
“The endless travelling when I was a kid, all the hours and the sacrifice – it’s moments like these when you stop and realise what they’ve done for me and how much they’ve helped to shape me into the person that I am and I really can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done.”
The Demons had to do it the hard way, fighting their way back into the contest after allowing Brisbane to kick the opening two goals of the game.
After trailing at quarter time, they eventually overcame the Lions 2.7 (19) to 2.3 (15) – and in the process avenge their 13-point grand final loss to Adelaide last season.
