Gosford Tigers ruck/centre-half forward Amy Hessell has only been playing AFL for a couple of years but already she is making her mark both on and off the field.

Hessell moved from the North Shore of Sydney to the Central Coast to commence a Bachelor of Exercise & Sports Science at the University of Newcastle’s Ourimbah Campus and after seeing some flyers for the–then Gosford Wildcats Hessell decided to give Australian Rules a go. She attended her first training session and, to use her words, “just loved it”.

Hessell has a basketball background which she believes has helped her adapt to AFL football “basketballers can often make good footballers as they have very good spatial awareness and are very skilled at tapping the ball to advantage in ruck contests". Hessell played in the premiership-winning Gosford team in the Sydney AFL in 2015, “a surprise premiership win that came about via a great second half of the season”.

With Gosford moving to the BDAFL from AFL Sydney this year Hessell has made the following observations “ the top teams in the BDAFL are at the very least on a par with the Sydney teams, and that the depth of competition in the GE Women’s Competition will increase as players across the League increase their skills, awareness and fitness levels”. “The BDAFL competition is going very well and leads the way in country areas of the State”. she added.

Hessell also said that she is appreciating the less travel involved with the BDAFL, “not having to worry about Sydney traffic, and also the stronger community feel in the Black Diamond League”.

“The camaraderie amongst all of the Women’s teams was excellent and has created great friendships across the League”

Hessell will be a key player for the BDAFL Women’s Representative side in their upcoming matches against AFL Canberra. “I am really looking forward to this match as it will provide a great opportunity for all players to test themselves against teams from a well-established competition” Hessell said.

Hessell stated that the newly-announced AFL Women’s Competition is a “just amazing, and an indication of how far Women’s footy has come in such a short time. This gives all of the girls a defined pathway, direction and something to aspire”.

Personally Hessell said that she would like to improve her skills and fitness base before trying to be drafted in a couple of years.

Hessell is confident that the AFL will increase the 8-team Women’s Competition in coming seasons, indicating that there were 13 teams that applied for the Women’s AFL Competition, a clear indication of the interest in and rapid growth of the sport.

She said that if she were fortunate enough to be drafted, she would play anywhere in Australia.

Hessell named Gosford Tigers Coach Simon Berry as having the biggest influence on her footy career so far, indicating he was a great motivator and a positive leader to all of the girls at the Gosford Tigers. She is very proud that Simon has been named the Coach of the BDAFL side, saying that he fully deserves this honour and that the whole squad will enjoy his coaching and leadership.

Off-field, Hessell is also making her mark as the first Women’s Coach in the Sydney Swans Academy, working with Head Coach Courtney Knight in Newcastle on Monday nights with ages ranging from Under 11s to Under 17s. “it’s a great culture to be part of, and I am taking that professionalism back to my club training with the Gosford Tigers” Hessell said.

Hessell says she would love to get into the AFL in a strength and conditioning role at some stage.

Amy Hessell, at just 23, is already a leader of the Women’s game and it would be great to see Amy continue her career in the AFL one day.