Former basketballer and Collegians amateur footballer Eleanor Hartill is set to get her wings in AFLW against the Essendon Bombers this Sunday at Mineral Resources Park.
Signing as an inactive replacement player for injured draftee Lauren Wakfer, West Coast noticed Hartill in the Perth Football League following her playing for the Joondalup Wolves in the NBL1 competition.
Within the Eagles’ squad, Hartill has shown promising signs as a key defender using her height and athleticism to beat opponents at the contest.
Hartill was ecstatic when hearing the news but said it she is keen to stay focused on the task at hand and be the best she can be when she runs onto the field this weekend.
“It was pretty unbelievable when I got told at Captain’s run, it’s a big surprise and I’m so excited to just go out and play with the girls and hopefully get a win this weekend,” Hartill said.
“I was ready to keep training and if I got picked, I got picked I obviously always want to play and we’ve got some amazing players in this team so I’m stoked to get out there with them.”
“I’ve really been focused on improving as much as I can and I’ve got a great coaching staff around me that’s been able to guide to this point.”
“I really wanted to show them that they can put their faith in me and now I need to be the best I can be on Sunday.”
Hartill will be joined by Aimee Schmidt who returns to the side after being cleared from concussion protocols on Thursday.
Schmidt was caught in a collision in the final quarter of round one, and despite playing the game out she showed symptoms after the final siren and was ruled out last week against Gold Coast.
Emily Bennett will miss round three of the competition while Beth Schilling, Jaide Britton and Abbygail Bushby are emergencies.
The AFLW is celebrating Indigenous Round this week and the Eagles will be represented by First Nations players, Imahra Cameron and Krstel Petreski, and the team will wear their Indigenous jumper.
