My dad played football for Williamstown in the VFA before I was born and growing up I spent lots of Saturday afternoons watching him as a player-coach in the local league while my mum worked in the tuck shop.
Before I met Mark I barracked for Richmond. I can remember going to the 1980 grand final in my duffle coat and being at the MCG at 7:30am because I only had standing room tickets. I watched all three games that day.
I met Mark while he was playing for Collingwood and it's been a pretty exciting journey since.
We've moved from my hometown of Melbourne to Brisbane to Adelaide to Melbourne and back to Adelaide again.
The idea of relocating for Mark's work didn't really bother me. It is his passion and I've been there to support him.
Brisbane was the hardest location as the team was on the road so much that you felt a bit isolated. When the Bears first came into the competition the football was hardly ever even on the TV and the team usually stayed interstate for two nights.
But we were still fortunate enough to meet some wonderful people there.
In football you form friendships that last for a lifetime and that's definitely the best part.
When Mark first started out as a coach I had more time to spend around the club than I do now.
I don't get to that many match-day functions any more. We have five kids, with three involved in sport on the weekends, and as you can all understand Mark always wants an update on the kids' progress.
Mark takes time out to help when he can but he's not always there to take the kids to training or to a game.
In saying that, two Sundays ago I had an open house here and we had a make-up/lingerie party for all the players/coaches' partners. I think I ended up with 23 kids at my house. It was chaotic but great fun.
The media scrutiny is the hardest thing to handle.
I've been around football for a long time and I think the media side of things can be crazy at times.
It's not so much that it bothers me, but when you've got children it can be tough.
Mark doesn't usually ask for my opinions on footy, but I give them to him anyway.
I've followed football my whole life and I probably watch more football than he does.
I'll sit up and watch a Friday night game and then two games on a Saturday and he'll tell me to turn it off because it's driving him crazy.
I'll also ask him questions about who should've been on whom after a game and what that zoning and kicking backwards is all about.
He rolls his eyes a bit because he's just had the same conversation with the media, but I like to know the answers as much as anyone else.
As a mother and wife I'm heavily involved with football and I am lucky enough to get a great seat every weekend.
I do marvel at the wonderful work that those unsung female heroes of footy do: the mums/aunties/grandmothers working away in the canteen together with the care and commitment of the ladies' committees.
These are the heroes that help keep this great game afloat.
I've loved being associated with the kids' football over the last 12 years and my three boys love the game.
It's great that the AFL has made the game safer than it's ever been.
I think I love kids' footy more than worrying about the AFL in a way.
It's the grassroots and that's where it all begins.
Thanks to all the mums out there for continuing to support their sons in their dreams ... they need us all.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
