ADELAIDE forward Rachael Killian grew up barracking for cross-town rival Port Adelaide, much to the dismay of her long-time neighbour, dual premiership Crow Shaun Rehn.
He certainly tried to drag Killian over to the Crows.
"For a long time, a very long time," Killian told AFL.com.au.
The 22-year-old missed the Crows’ opening-round victory in the NAB AFL Women's competition against Greater Western Sydney with a quad injury, but showed plenty of nous up forward in last Friday's win against the Western Bulldogs on her senior debut, collecting nine disposals and kicking a goal.
Killian’s ability was developed from her early days, when she spent hours over at the Rehn household, playing a variety of sports on their tennis court. She played Auskick for a year but did not pursue football, since the pathways were not readily available at the time.
Instead, Killian played tennis until she was 15, when a back injury kept her on the sidelines for 10 months. The spondylolisthesis injury involved slippage of her vertebra, as well as a hairline fracture in her spine.
It was an injury she unknowingly carried and played sport with for two years. Her eventual rehabilitation was longer than it needed to be.
"I was getting a bit of back pain. We thought it was just growing pains, [but] we thought we'd get a scan just to check it out. The scan came back [showing] that injury," she said.
"After about three months the doctors said I could start to ease back into running, but I was a little bit too eager and started sprinting laps of an oval and hurt it a little bit more."
Killian began playing football at school in Year 9 and joined some friends at the Port Adelaide Magpies in 2013. An excellent first season at club level was good enough to see her represent South Australia in Cairns at the women's national championships.
She would move to West Adelaide the following season and would stay there before eventually being picked up by the Crows with selection 71 in last year's NAB AFL Women's Draft.
Her decision to pick football over tennis isn't one she regrets. Although she still loves tennis, Killian enjoys the team aspect football provides.
"Coming into a football club is incredible – just how everyone gets around each other. The team vibe is like nothing else I've experienced before and I'd have to say … most of my friends are from football," she said.
Rehn's influence might not have been enough to convince Killian to support Adelaide, but the affiliation with her new club seems to have convinced the forward to make the switch.
"The Crows have been incredibly supportive of women's footy. It's an incredible opportunity we've got here and I might be converting ," she said.
