YOUNG Bulldog Elisabeth Georgostathis had a stellar season 6, and credits her hard work for why her season earlier this year was so good.

“I think just my hard work. I just really wanted to push myself. I think the first couple of years it was just getting the feeling of what it’s like to be in the professional environment of footy and stuff. Yeah last season I just think I was a couple of seasons in my journey now, so just doing absolutely everything I can to get my body right and learning all these styles of footy.”

Growing up playing netball and little athletics, Georgostathis loved the physical side of football, which is what attracted her to the sport.

Although she admitted she was nervous coming into the Bulldogs at first because of the prospect of playing alongside the likes of Ellie Blackburn and Kirsty Lamb, she said that having the likes of fellow Vic Metro stars Gabrielle Newton and Gemma Lagioia coming into the club at the same time really helped. Despite her initial nerves, Georgostathis says that Blackburn and Lamb were ultimately so welcoming and now speaks so highly of them.

She does not have one specific role model, but looks up to the players similar to her in the competition like Lamb and Blackburn.

“Um, oooh tough one. Umm, I don’t know if like a role model but I look up to a lot of people. I probably look up to probably no one in particular, but probably people who are similar to me. Obviously I’m not big in stature and everything or anything like that, so probably to the smaller players in the comp and seeing the way they go about footy and the way they move around and get the best out of themselves.”

While the short turnaround between seasons was not easy for some, Georgostathis found the positives in the situation.

“At times it’s been tough, other times it feels like footy never stopped, but it’s good. The girls at the club, they are like my second family, so it’s so great seeing them I suppose throughout the full year. I feel like as a team we’ve bonded even closer because we’ve seen each other so much, we’ve been able to communicate really close, and it’s footy, so we all love coming to do what we love.”

Coming into season 7, Georgostathis’ goal was pretty simple.

“I think it was mainly just to get the best out of myself again” she said. “She just wanted to push herself and play her role for the team.”