MADDI Gay is finally fully fit and in career-best form, after seriously considering retirement last year.
The 28-year-old missed five matches in her final year at Narrm, two through "management" and three with a hamstring issue, while her knees have long plagued the former netballer.
Speaking to AFL.com.au in Darwin, where Essendon is preparing to take on Richmond in the first AFLW Dreamtime match in the Top End, Gay said she had two options after her season with the Demons ended.
"Getting towards the end of the season with [Narrm] – I still love them, still adore them and catch up, love Mick – but it was either a choice of retiring, or finding another club," Gay said.
"It was purely because motivation was lacking. I would come home from a really good win with the team, but I wasn't really enthusiastic about it.
"The number of injuries I have had took a mental toll. So, I had a chat to my manager (James Pitcher) and we discussed a potential move, which scared me, because I love the Dees. Essendon showed an interest, and I'm a Bombers girl, so it was a fairytale ending."
Essendon needs to keep its season alive with a win over Richmond, and for Gay, it will be a reunion of sorts with some of her closest friends.
"Body's good this season. I had a really good off-season, thanks to the team at Bombers. I was able to get a lot of training in overseas, which changes the environment of where you're training. I actually trained a lot with the Richmond girls, which was good fun, and it set me up for a good pre-season.
"It was KB's (Katie Brennan's) wedding in America, so it was good to train with the girls, and now we'll play against each other.
"I've been doing more lifting in the gym. Previous seasons, I've had something wrong, so I haven't been able to go big in the gym, whereas now I can hip-thrust (with a bar and weights sitting across the lower torso) and squat and everything, because my knees are really good, which is nice.
"Building that tank in the off-season has also helped me stay on the track more."
A few hours after stepping off the same flight, Essendon and Richmond took part in a Saltwater Welcome to Country on the waterfront in Darwin, land of the Larrakia people.
The players and coaches stood knee-deep in water, washing their arms, legs and face as they introduced themselves to the land.
Coincidentally, the traditional colour of the Larrakia people is red (Essendon), while the nearby Tiwi population is yellow (Richmond).
"We had an education session [on Wednesday], and I hadn't known why Essendon and Richmond are the two (Dreamtime) teams, but they form the colours of the Aboriginal flag," Gay said.
"Being educated on all these different stories – the different mobs, where they've come from, the journeys they've had to take to be here – is really amazing. You take life for granted from our end.
"We're going on a little Long Walk [on Friday], so we'll have some more education there about how Michael Long's walk came about.
"I went to Driver Primary School earlier today, worked with some grade fives and sixes. I remember hearing a stat that 40 per cent of kids playing footy are female, so we were talking to them about that, that there is a pathway. But then we also played games with them, and apparently it's hard to keep [kids'] attention for 60 minutes, so I was hot and sweaty afterwards, but it was good fun."
