BACK IN May, on the eve of the AFLW pre-season, North Melbourne defender Jas Ferguson had to make an awkward phone call.
The 24-year-old had spent part of the off-season in her hometown, which included a handful of netball games with her childhood club, Ellinbank, just south of Warragul in Gippsland.
>> Win a $70K Toyota in AFLW Fantasy! Sign up NOW
Playing centre (the defender jokes that she's "definitely not a midfielder in football"), Ferguson fractured her right hand during one of the games and had to call the Kangaroos' brains trust to fess up.
She underwent surgery, but thankfully only missed a small portion of off-season training and hasn't missed a pre-season session.
The semi-professional nature of the AFLW means players are given more latitude than their male counterparts to take part in other sports during their off-seasons, with many Irish players returning home for their Gaelic football seasons.
But Ferguson concedes her own concerns about what the incident could mean for the start of the new campaign impacted her almost as much as the injury itself.
"I absolutely loved netball growing up, which is why I think I was still holding onto something I didn't quite want to let go of, but obviously with footy now being a lot more professional, you do have to focus on it," she tells AFL.com.au.
"I was trying to keep the competitive juices flowing in the off-season, and wanted to give back to the local community. My family are heavily involved in the footy-netball club.
"It was a very innocuous incident, my hand just got caught. It could have happened playing footy, even just walking down the street, it was a very little thing.
"In the moment, it was frustration and disappointment in myself, and I felt like I had almost let the team down, to the point where I possibly wasn't quite focusing on what I should have been, in the off-season.
"Speaking to 'Crock' (coach Darren Crocker) and the staff, giving an apology might not have been what I should have been focusing on. I personally think I bounced back pretty quickly."
Having responded well to the setback, Ferguson now has all eyes on Sunday's Grand Final re-match against Brisbane to open the new season.
In last year's decider, North looked to be carrying all the momentum into the final term, but Brisbane had other ideas.
After the Kangaroos' best AFLW season to date, they're out to prove it was no fluke, starting with a trip to Brisbane.
"Revenge, redemption, you can use all different words, but it's definitely forefront of mind," Ferguson says. "We respect Brisbane and we know they're a fantastic outfit. We can't wait, and what better chance to get than the reigning premiers in round one.
"We'd love to get over the top of them, but we want to keep our form from last season as well. We want to keep showing that we can match it with Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, those typical big three, and we want to show that beating Melbourne and Adelaide in the finals wasn't a fluke.
"We want to show we're now considered one of the top teams and we have a really strong core group and we're ready to go. Hopefully we'll tick that box in round one, but hopefully show in those first couple of rounds when we have a few tough matches (Geelong and Melbourne) that we're here to play and we're taking that step forward."
North Melbourne's backline has been hit by injury over pre-season, with Libby Birch (MCL), Eliza Shannon (ankle), Lulu Pullar (calf) and Nicole Bresnehan (hamstring) all affected.
Bresnehan featured in the Roos' thumping practice match win over Greater Western Sydney, while Birch is pushing hard for round one against the Lions.
"It's something as a program we haven't dealt with much in the past, having injuries, and a few long-termish ones in there. We're excited as a group and we've taken it as an opportunity to show the depth we have in our squad," Ferguson said.
"There have been quite a few girls who have sat on the sidelines the last couple of years, solely because the team is hard to get into. Lucy Burke, Ruby Tripodi, there are girls who haven't quite been given the full opportunity to show their skillset."
Ferguson has been added to the Roos' leadership group this year, working with long-term skipper Emma Kearney, Jasmine Garner, Ash Riddell, Kate Shierlaw, Bella Eddey and Birch.
"In my first couple of seasons, I didn't have too much confidence in myself or my game. So last season was the first time I felt like I could show the leadership qualities I have, because I finally felt confident in my position in the team and the role I was playing," she said.
"I think being the deepest defender helps me provide leadership to others in the backline and the midfield connection as well. It's a real honour to be voted in.
"I want to shout out Nicole Bresnehan and Emma King, who have come out of the leadership group, but I can't speak any more highly of both of them.
"'Flash' (Bresnehan) is someone where I want to find [her style] within myself – she speaks really well, she knows when the team needs a bit of healthy criticism, or when to pump us up as well. I think the leadership she's provided in recent seasons, and will continue to provide, has been massive, and I hope to replicate that in myself as well."
Known as an incredibly strong and dogged lockdown defender, Ferguson has been working on expanding her game in 2024 and it goes hand-in-hand with her increased confidence.
"I want to keep growing my defensive craft, but also the attacking side of it as well. Early seasons, all I was trying to do was not get beaten, that was all I focused on. I didn't really care if I got the ball, I just wanted to stop my opponent," she said.
"Obviously in football, you need to go both ways, and something for us as a team in general is we need to get more efficient in scoring. We're getting it in there enough, we just need to increase that efficiency, whether that's forward entries or just ball movement in general, we need to get the defenders involved.
"If you've got a strong back half attacking game that really feeds into that front half, it allows you to play with a lot of confidence going inside 50."
