CLARE STAR AILISH Considine says scoring a goal in the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) Grand Final is something that will “live on in my memory for a very long time.”
Considine was instrumental in helping the Adelaide Crows to victory in the decider against Carlton over the weekend to cap off an impressive debut season Down Under.
The Kilmihil native split the posts from close range in the first quarter of her side’s 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18) triumph, which was played in front of a record crowd of 53,034 at the Adelaide Oval.
“I just couldn’t even imagine, when I set foot here in Adelaide in November… just absolutely amazing experience since I came over,” the 26-year-old told OTB AM.
“To actually get the opportunity to play in a Grand Final and come out with the right result, it’s just been an absolute whirlwind of a year.
“53,000 is absolutely insane. I think we were expecting about 25,000, maybe 30,000 at a push. To score a goal in front of that crowd and hear the roar is just wow and gonna live on in my memory for a very long time.”
Considine’s brother Keith and mother Kay travelled over from Clare to be in Adelaide for the occasion along with her sister Eimear, who is also an Ireland rugby star.
Speaking to The42 ahead of the Grand Final, Kay described the experience as “a fairytale” for her family.
“I’m just so happy that my family were there to witness that,” Considine continued.
“One of my main highlights from sport is playing in Croke Park and scoring a goal there but this is just a whole other level.
”When you’re talking about professional athletes and 50,000 people in front of you, it’s just absolutely incredible.”
Considine has been a consistent performer for the Crows this season but she suffered a setback when she was dropped for their Round 6 clash with the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants.
She admits that it was difficult to take that knock but was determined to reclaim her place in the team. Her efforts were rewarded when she was included in the team for their remaining games in the campaign, before scoring that goal in the Grand Final.
She’s eager to get another shot with the Crows next season and is expected to discover her AFLW future in the coming weeks.
“The fact that I got even got one game, not to talk about having played eight games this year in AFLW has just been crazy,” she said.
“I did get dropped for the GWS game and that was hard but I knew I didn’t play very well against North Melbourne so I was kind of expecting it.
”The plan is (to) hopefully get re-signed to potentially play again next year.
“But that’s not in my hands at the moment but we’ll have all those big meetings next week and the week after so hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to come back out and play for another season.”
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