ACCEPTING your playing career isn’t forever can be confronting for some AFLW athletes.  

The end can sometimes be unexpected and hit harder than a key defender, leaving a player floored. Yet unlike those moments in-game, there often aren’t team members around to extend a helping hand to get back on your feet.  

Workplay, powered by John Holland, exists to change that.  

Slotting in as the safety net for athletes looking to future-proof themselves in their post-playing careers, Workplay has been designed to remove barriers for women athletes looking to develop their skillsets and establish career pathways beyond the game.  

While there are key partners across different industries, many outside of football, it’s Movember Ahead of The Game that has struck a significant resonance for AFLW athletes looking to develop their off-field careers.  

The AFL and Movember have partnered to roll out Ahead of the Game, a program made possible through the support of Coles, designed to engage the community football ecosystem to grow the understanding of mental health, building mental fitness and resilience. 

Four GWS Giants AFLW athletes have secured roles as facilitators of the Ahead of the Game program, equipping them to facilitate evidence-based workshops that enable young athletes to understand mental health, how to seek help and ultimately build resilience.  

Ruck Fleur Davies joined Ahead of the Game through Workplay and is now balancing the 2024 AFLW preseason with facilitating mental health workshops for young female footballers.  

“I think it's going to have a massive impact on grassroots,” Davies says of the program. 

“Growing up through footy, I don't think I ever had a facilitator come in and talk to us about mental health at all, nor anything related to the anxiety and depression side of football.” 

Walking the line of not-quite-part-time, not-quite-full-time football can be a trip hazard, but Davies believes her new position allows her to split focus on work and football while having the additional benefit of bettering her own mental health and contributing to the mental health of the next generation of athletes. 

“I want to learn more and deeper about the mental health side of football, because I think nowadays it's such an important area,” she says.  

Davies is flanked by GWS Giants teammates Kaitlyn Srhoj, Mikayla Pauga and Megan Gaffney, who also obtained contracts through Workplay.  

“Programs like Workplay allow players to be able to find a job outside of football and start a career,” Gaffney says.  

“Sometimes when you're playing elite sport, you get caught up in the moment and you think that this is my job forever.  

“But it's not.” 

Currently studying a bachelor of social sciences, Gaffney was able to use Workplay as a tool that presented roles of a strong values alignment, with employees sympathetic to the flexible arrangements needed by professional athletes.  

“It's really important to be provided with flexible career and job opportunities so that you can be earning a bit of money and can get some real-life experience in the workplace. 

“I've always had an interest in helping people and trying to make people's lives better and through my early days of footy, I didn't really get anyone deliver education about mental health. 

“When you might experience setbacks, in or outside of football or when you're going through that transitioning period of being a kid to an adult, it can be really challenging. 

“Programs like Ahead of The Game can have such a big impact on boys and girls. They set you up for later life, not just in football.” 

“It's really exciting that we are able to work hand in hand with Workplay and with the AFL,” former Lion Pauga echoes.  

Pauga, who graduated with a bachelor of psychology earlier this year, has been able to pair her appreciation of human sciences with football in the role.   

“Studying human nature, our emotions, how we react to stress, I think I was able to really start seeing in life what I was learning in the AFL environment,” Pauga says.  

“I actually started using a lot of tools and methods I learned in my degree in myself to help me become a better athlete. 

“After finishing that bachelor, I was really excited to use that for the best and I just wanted to share it with people within my community.” 

Rounding out the quartet, 2023 draft pick Kaitlyn Srhoj has found a similar alignment with football and work she’s passionate about.  

“A really big part of my balance is having a work life alongside footy and study,” Srhoj says.  

“Through the Workplay website I found Ahead of The Game. The realm of mental health is something that I really am passionate about, and having the opportunity to speak to younger people about this space is important, it’s not something that should be brushed over. I didn't really get that back at community level.”  

Having relocated from Perth to Sydney with her new contract at the Giants, the role and a better connectivity into her own wellbeing comes at a crucial time.  

“I think some people really do need to hear of the struggles from people's own personal experiences to get something out of it and encourage awareness within themselves. 

“This is something that I really advocate for, and it’s important in our game.”