Olivia Purcell thought she would battle to play any soccer in 2022.
But these fears have confirmed unfounded because the star Melbourne midfielder prepares for her second AFLW grand ultimate in seven months.
In a weird quirk of the ladies’s season being pushed to an August-November window, the Demons will rapidly get a possibility to make amends for his or her loss to Adelaide within the April decider.
Purcell has made a big impact since transferring from Geelong to the Demons forward of final season, taking best-on-ground honours with an outstanding efficiency in Melbourne’s qualifying-final victory three weeks in the past.
She completed fifth on Tuesday evening in a good AFLW best-and-fairest depend behind the Brisbane Lions’ shock winner Ally Anderson, in addition to making the All-Australian group.
After rupturing her ACL in February 2021, the 22-year-old stored her ambitions grounded following the shift from the Cats.
However, Purcell’s restoration went higher than anticipated and he or she was capable of play six video games, together with the grand ultimate, in what could be the primary of two campaigns in 2022.
“I wasn’t even sure if I’d be playing last season at all,” Purcell advised AAP.
“To play the last few games and then to play finals that was a pretty crazy experience in itself.
“That simply reveals how good the membership is coping with gamers which have long-term accidents.
“I feel like from my rehab it set me up pretty well for this season.
“I felt like I did not actually put any expectations of myself final season as a result of I knew I used to be getting back from damage.
“Once we found out that we were going to play another season I was like this is pretty good timing to have a good crack again.”
Melbourne will enter Sunday’s grand ultimate towards Brisbane as underdogs with the grand ultimate to be performed at their opposition’s new Springfield complicated.
The Demons edged the Lions in final season’s preliminary ultimate, however misplaced to the Queensland membership of their final battle in September.
Purcell believes Melbourne’s expertise of their grand-final loss to the Crows will maintain them in good stead this time round.
“I think it’s a really good experience to have because we still have a young group and that was the first proper grand-final experience,” she mentioned.
“We did not need to win it.
“So to undergo that loss and really feel that I nonetheless attempt to remind myself all through the season how that feels.
“When I’m out there playing as well, I don’t want to feel that again.”
