DAREBIN defender Riley Christgoergl has experienced a lot in the past through years of her VFL Women’s career.

Afte a few years at the Western Bulldogs, she then moved to Collingwood before finding her way to the Falcons in 2024.

However after leaving the Bulldogs in search of a fresh start, leaving Collingwood so soon was not necessarily part of her plans.

“I sort of felt like I’d given everything to Bulldogs and it felt like the right time to move and I needed a change,” Christgoergl said.

“I had been talking to Collingwood while I was still at Bulldogs, and I felt like I was going to be really valued and wanted there, which was the case when I played there last year.  Unfortunately, towards the end of the season, I no longer felt that way. 

“My whole football career has been about finding that place where I do feel valued. I think for me in football and anything in life, I’ll commit 100 percent and all I want is to feel valued and like I’m contributing.”

However, despite this negative, she is happy to now be a Falcon.

“So now finally being at Darebin, a place that has always supported and valued women or non binary people in sport for many decades, it’s hopefully the last move,” Christgoergl said. “I feel really valued now and I feel like they have a community and a long list of years and people who have found value here. So I’m confident that this will be my last change and that I will retire a Falcon.”

The fact that Darebin is not aligned with an AFL club or a VFLM club was a big factor in the decision for Christgoergl.

“I mean, it’s a big change to change clubs. I know that’s going to sound hypocritical because I’ve changed times, but I’ll be loyal to a tee if I feel valued” she said.

“So AFL did have an impact on that. Obviously you do end up with, just more politics, more change. You’re under the AFL umbrella, you don’t have that community feel as much.

“The good thing is about an AFL club is you have those direct lines to an AFLW program and you get opportunities like train on opportunities, which  I’m so grateful to have in my career. But for me now, I want to  give all I am in a place that I feel valued and that I know I can give back to and that’s like rewarding.”

With the way things ended at Collingwood for Chistgeorgl and may of her team mates, she sad she very much resonated with what was happening to the Collingwood netballers at the same time.

“Oh, 100 per cent,” she said. “I mean, when that happened, it affected every female athlete in the building.

“We all felt that, and it was really disheartening to see that. I mean, we went to the netball games and loved it, and were stoked to have.  That netball team, especially being outside the scope of the footy world that we could support as part of the club. It was like a really, like coming to Collingwood and seeing that representation was really good.

“I mean as a female athlete you become really aware of it. You feel that so closely, even though it’s not your program. So that was really disheartening and we all felt that.”

Speaking of feeling valued, Christgoergl said that she feels that in her off field life too.

Life is pretty busy off field these days too for Christgoergl, who works full time in the kitchen at Lulie Tavern in Abbotsford. But thanks to some very supportive employers she is able to make it all work.