FORMER Natya resident Eden Zanker has capped off a breakout season, earning selection in the AFLW All-Australian team on Monday evening.
Zanker was selected on the interchange bench after being the home-and-away season’s equal leading goalkicker with teammate Kate Hore.
Each booted 20 goals, the first AFLW players to kick 20 goals or more in a season.
Zanker and Hore, named captain, were the two Melbourne players in the All-Australian side.
A first All-Australian blazer was an achievement “a long time coming”, according to Zanker.
“It’s still a bit surreal, but I suppose it’s a chance for me to appreciate all the time and effort I’ve put into my professional football career,” the key forward told The Guardian.
“It’s been a tough ride at times, but it’s good to see that hard work paying off.
“In terms of my season, I never set out to make the All-Australian team or be the leading goalkicker, I don’t think anybody does, but they are certainly nice accolades when they come your way.
“Consistency has probably been the key for me, and it was a word that was discussed a lot in my exit interviews and my performance previews with my coaches throughout the season.
“Finding an element of consistency in my game has allowed me to play a bigger and more important role within the team and find my feet a little bit better in the role I’m playing.”
Such was her consistency, the 24-year-old hit the scoreboard in all bar one home-and-away match.
The highlight was her performance against Adelaide in round 6, when she kicked a career-high five goals.
But while confidence had propelled Zanker to new heights, it hadn’t always been the case.
“(All-Australian selection) is recognition, at least individually, of just how far I’ve come as a player,” Zanker said.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey, I’ve struggled at times and have been a bit indecisive about my career as a professional footballer and whether this was a route I really wanted to take in my career.
“But to see the hard work paying off and the external recognition is certainly humbling.
“Me, being a serious overthinker and perfectionist, I felt that a lot and I guess it comes with an element of being valued where I was and with what I was doing.
“I came into the competition playing across a variety of positions, from midfield, ruck and forward, so I probably picked the brains of the coaches a little bit in terms of them finding the right position that worked for me.
“But it wasn’t until this season that I found that consistency and started to grow my love for football again.
“Finding my feet with footy has been a bit of a journey in itself, but I feel like I’ve done that now. I love the Melbourne Football Club and couldn’t ask to be anywhere else.”
A premiership player with Melbourne last year, Zanker will also be an envious onlooker for Sunday’s grand final between North Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions at Ikon Park.
Despite finishing second on the ladder, Zanker’s Demons were bundled out in straight sets, a heartbreaking five-point loss to Geelong ending their flag defence.
“I’ll definitely be a jealous onlooker this weekend, but credit to the Kangaroos and Brisbane, they are two incredible teams that deserve a spot in the grand final,” Zanker said.
“We were the team that was hunted all year long and I felt like we embraced that for the majority of the year, but we just fell out of form at the back end of the season when it mattered the most.
“The most bittersweet part of it is that we played our best footy for the last two or three games in the last quarter of the semi-final against Geelong.
“That’s almost the most frustrating thing of all, that we managed to find form and correct ourselves right at the end.”
