Perched upon the timber seating in the cold, windy stands of Waverley Park, she sat alone.  It was a mission just to make it there; too young to drive a car and two and a half hours of riding public transport, she finally made it, following the hoards of red and blue and the groups of red, white and black, into the ground.

Melbourne played St Kilda on this winter’s day, the team unable to score a goal until the last quarter, but there she sat until the very end, dedicated and passionate.

Sarah Smith, Women of Melbourne board member and Melbourne Football Club member, has many tales of her beloved Dees.  There are memorable moments of the team playing finals footy or players accepting a Brownlow Medal, and there are moments of struggle, such as avoiding a team merger with Hawthorn or witnessing a season of few wins.  Smith has stuck by Melbourne through thick and thin.

“I feel like I just have to be there (watching Melbourne play) because when the victory comes and when we’ve got that premiership cup, I want to be able to look back at all these times and know it was worth it,” Smith says.

“I would attend if it was rain, hail or shine and whether there were 20 people or I was on my own.  I was known for going to the football on my own even if nobody else was able to make it, it was important to me to know that I was going - week in, week out.”

Appointed as a board member of the Women of Melbourne committee in December 2008, Smith has been an enthusiastic and keen member, promoting the Club through women’s eyes, and she takes great initiative with new ideas for the future.

“Our motto is Engaging Women in AFL football.  We give women the opportunity to feel like they can engage, and I feel it’s a point of difference that some of the other clubs aren’t doing this at the moment,” Smith says.

As well as working with and supporting Melbourne, Smith has currently taken on a new role as Marketing and Communications Manager for the brands French
Connection and Seed, where she faces new and exciting challenges.

This reflects the situation of the Demons; a team of youngsters guided by a handful of older, experienced players taking on new and exciting challenges on and off the field.

“I think we’re really onto something amazing at the moment, and everybody knows it.  It’s so fantastic to see all of the supporters riding the wave together proving we’re more than just ‘fair weather’ supporters,” Smith says with enthusiasm.

“Some of the players coming through are so exciting.  And the older players like James McDonald can go out, final year or not, on such a great note.  Like Brad Green and Cameron Bruce, they’re having a great year, it’s really so exciting.

“I’m really proud of what we stand for on and off the ground, and it’s really a credit to Jim (Stynes) and the board and the players.”

Smith has been looking towards Season 2014, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of Melbourne’s last premiership.  This was the year in which she hoped the team would add another triumph to the list as they climbed the ladder, past ninth and tenth and through the top eight, to finally reach top place as premiers.

“From what I’ve seen this year, I think it could be closer that that, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think it will be sooner than we think.”