REDEMPTION will be the key word this weekend for Eden Zanker and her Melbourne team mates when they take the field in Sunday’s AFLW grand final.
The 23-year-old from Natya will be hoping for a much happier ending than the Demons’ heartbreaking 13-point grand final loss to Adelaide when last season finished in April.
Melbourne were outsiders that day and will be again when they head north to face the Brisbane Lions on Sunday.
But there is a very different feel about this weekend for Zanker, who this week told The Guardian the experience – and pain – of that defeat eight months ago will no doubt be a driving force for her team when the ball is bounced at 2.40pm.
“Losing last season’s grand final is definitely a motivating factor for us girls I think – we didn’t play the way we wanted to play that day and Adelaide were just better than us on the day,” Zanker said.
“But with that said, we go in confident that our best is good enough to win on any given day and if we can play at our best, we’ll give ourselves a really good chance.
“That loss will definitely motivate us, but so will the people that have helped us reach this point – people like (coach Mick Stinear), who’s been our coach since day one, I think we’d all love to put a premiership on his CV.
“The same goes for people like Daisy Pearce and Karen Paxman, who have also been amazing for me and all our team mates.
“Hopefully we can get a win for those girls, because they’ve put in so much – not just into the club, but the whole AFLW community.”
Zanker and her team mates will be making their way to Brisbane today in preparation for the decider, with the club attempting to keep the festivities that come along with grand final week to a minimum.
While the players will get their first look at the controversial Springfield venue tomorrow afternoon, Zanker was looking forward to the challenge that lays in wait against one of the competition’s benchmark teams.
“At the end of the day, we’re not focusing on the things we can’t control like the day, time, location – they are all things that are out of our hands,” she said.
“Brisbane are a great side and they’ve earned the right to host this year’s grand final, but right now we’re just looking forward to getting up there and taking on the challenge.
“We learned a lot about them from our match in round 4 (a 15-point loss) and I suppose the benefit of losing that game is that we can fine-tune a few things.
“From that point on in our season we’ve been building, so Sunday I feel will be a whole new ball game.
“They’re a great side that’s super competitive and super fit, but if we bring our best I know we can beat them.”
While her focus is clearly on the job at hand, the key forward, who played her 50th AFLW match in the 21-point qualifying final win over Adelaide three weeks ago, still allowed herself the opportunity to dream.
She considered what it might mean should she be known as a premiership player come 5pm Sunday afternoon.
“It would mean everything, especially for my family and friends, with all the travelling that they do and the support they give me,” Zanker said.
“Mick (Stinear) is also a big motivator for me – he’s helped me grow not only as a footballer, but also as a person, so winning for him would mean so much.
“Then there’s my partner, she’s always there for me and also my team mates and friends – even old teachers that still keep in touch with me, I feel like I’ve had an impact on their lives, but they probably don’t understand that they’ve had such a big impact on mine as well, and I really would love to pay them all back by contributing to us winning on Sunday.”
