Brisbane goal-kicking whiz Jesse Wardlaw sought the very best technical and conditioning teaching accessible to show herself into one of many best forwards within the AFLW.
The 22-year-old will play for the Lions in opposition to Melbourne within the AFLW grand last in Springfield on Sunday after a stellar season which earned All-Australian group choice.
Wardlaw was the AFLW main aim kicker for the yr with 19 targets, equalling the report set beforehand by Adelaide’s Ash Woodland.
The 2021 premiership winner has proven maturity past her years to recognise the place she wanted to enhance.
“Coming into the AFLW I knew I wasn’t great to start with,” she mentioned.
“I was a pretty small body and didn’t have much footy smarts so I have worked on those things and seen specialist coaches for my kicking and strength and conditioning.”
Wardlaw credit Lions coach Craig Starcevich for bringing out the very best in her, and provides Lions Academy coach Ben Stanley has been an enormous affect.
“I saw Ben out at Enhance Football on the Sunshine Coast and he does a lot of kicking analysis. We especially looked at my goal-kicking technique and why I wasn’t getting the distance or wasn’t as accurate,” she mentioned.
“We broke it down and saw some things we needed to tweak.
“He even mentioned to me at the beginning of the season, ‘You are going to get main aim kicker’.
“Credit to Ben. With a lot of the youth here he puts a lot of work into their early years.”
Wardlaw’s enhanced technical aptitude has been complemented by elevated physicality.
“I saw my coach Dylan (Fowler) at The Evolved Gym at West End and I was training with him four times a week in the gym just to put on some mass because I was getting pushed around too much,” she grinned.
She’s not getting pushed round any extra. Her All-Australian choice was proof of that.
“That was massive. All-Australian for me is something I’ve always wanted to strive towards as a player,” she mentioned.
“As soon as I got drafted I would watch the awards night and think I wanted to be on that stage.
“I positively did not see this coming so early in my profession. Hopefully I can keep within the A-A group for years to return.”
Wardlaw came through as a youngster idolising former Lions star Tayla Harris, now with Melbourne.
“It is sort of ironic I shall be versing her this weekend however she has been a participant I’ve regarded as much as from a younger age and at all times had a whole lot of respect for,” she said.
As for Sunday, Wardlaw is expecting a fierce contest.
“I feel it’s going to be a four-quarter battle from the begin to the very finish,” she mentioned.
