MURRAY Bushrangers midfielder, Rebecca Webster grew up with footy in her veins.

As a youngster, Webster would run out in an oversized Auskick jumper and have a kick around with her brother’s team. She admits that her brother, a year her senior, fuelled the competitive fire from within, to play Aussie Rules football.

“I always wanted to be better than him (her brother) and I’ve just gone through the ranks of the boys to 14s, and then all through Youth Girls footy and got here now, end of the journey for the TAC (Cup Girls),” Webster said.

Although Webster’s TAC Cup Girls journey was daunting at first, she is impressed with the program’s progression.

“I remember rocking up to training in Kialla for the first time and I was so scared because I never played footy with the girls before,” Webster said. “I was absolutely petrified. “But I don’t think we had many people to get not selected. “We were combined with Bendigo but you can see how much it’s grown. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Like many TAC Cup Girls players, Webster tried her hand at many different sports when she was younger, but felt her passion for footy shone through.

“I just felt like I gelled a lot more with footy,” Webster said. “I was athletic and stuff but I wasn’t really passionate for the other games. “When I was out on the field I just loved it and because I gelled with the boys and everyone there and just felt like home playing footy.”

Playing with the boys was something Webster had become accustomed to at that point, having roughed it up with them on the field from Auskick to under 14s. But when she was selected for the Murray Bushrangers, she discovered a whole new world of football.

“I grew up all my life playing with boys until I was about 14 where I had to play with the girls so it was very, very different,” Webster said. “I never knew what to expect but I’ve definitely adapted over the years and it’s been a great journey. “To be able to connect with the other girls and see how they’ve come about has been really cool.”

Although her TAC Cup Girls journey has ended, Webster still has a busy schedule of football ahead of her, featuring in the upcoming AFL Women’s National Under 18 Championships on the Gold Coast.

“It’s going to be a ripper,” Webster said. “We played up there last year so [I have] got pretty high expectations again but should be good though.”

Webster has also been selected to play in Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s for Melbourne Uni, in what is shaping to be an incredibly bright future for the talented midfielder.