TONIGHT is the beginning of the AFL Women’s Season 7, and will see Sarah Rowe and Brittany Bonnici’s Collingwood Magpies take on Carlton in the traditional season opener.

For Rowe, the prospect of playing two seasons in a year is certainly exciting.

“I think it’s given us the opportunity as a group to not lose too much of our skillset in the offseason and our fitness, and we’re coming back in with quite a good baseline,” Rowe said. “Only being away for two months it’s actually been a help to us rather then a hindrance, so I think we’re really excited to just get back into Round 1 as quickly as possible.”

It was a very different offseason for Rowe, who would normally head home to Ireland to play Gaelic football between seasons, but did not want to put her body through back-to-back campaigns like that with such a short turnaround. She still got to go home though, and went travelling through Ireland with six of her Collingwood team mates.

Unfortunately for Bonnici, she will not feature on-field this AFLW season, but is certainly trying to be as much of a help as she can off-field.

“I sort of went into the start of preseason really wanting to solidify just one role and sort of nail down that, but I’ve just realised I just love playing footy,” Bonnici said. “I don’t know what it is off the field that I’m really passionate about doing just yet, so for me it’s just been about seeing different things, seeing the different aspects that make up a footy club, getting around the girls in different ways and really just nailing down on doing my rehab and trying to do that as best I can, as quick I can and try and get out on the track a little bit with the girls to train towards the end of the season.”

Bonnici said that her rehab was going well. There have been “lots and lots of ups and downs” but she is learning a lot about the game, herself and the club in the process. She is also learning a lot about patience, which she even confessed she “probably [does not] have a lot of”.

In terms of the team’s goals and aspirations for the season, Bonnici was pretty straightforward in what the Pies want to achieve.

“Much like every year you just want to get the best out of your team ultimately,” she said. “If that means making a Grand Final and winning a Grand Final, then that means making a Grand Final and winning a Grand Final.

“We don’t shy away from the fact that every year that’s what you play for, but definitely this year we’ve got girls playing in new roles, we’ve got new girls coming into the team, it’s really just exciting to see people get different opportunities that they probably haven’t had in previous years, and seeing the way we can formulate all of that together, where we can get as a collective.”

On a personal note, Rowe isn’t thinking too much about outcomes, but is more focused on the process. Ever the team-first person, she is making sure she gets everything right from a personal perspective first, so she can make the best contribution to her team this season.