JANELLE Cuthbertson’s path to become the second AFLW captain of Port Adelaide is certainly a unique one.

From a background in high level tennis, which saw her reach just outside the top 100 in juniors and venture into the USA college pathway, Cuthbertson thrives in situations outside of her comfort zone. Australian football was exactly that.

“Football was a sport like I’d never played it before,” she said “I’d never really followed it, but I always enjoyed running around the schoolyard with the boys and playing soccer and I guess I wanted to try something new and throw myself into a new environment. “As soon as I went down to that first training session I fell in love with the game.”

Becoming a defender was not planned as such for Cuthbertson, but occurred thanks to some coaches in a cross-code talent ID program, which helped identify her potential behind the ball .

“It was like, ‘we feel like you’ve got just a good body type for a defender and the way that you read the ball and read the play’, and I guess it wasn’t necessarily my choice,” Cuthbertson said. “It was what was suited to me best and what the coach thought would be best for me.”

Having begun her AFLW career at Fremantle, Cuthbertson moved to the Power after season seven, siting burnout as a factor for seeking a fresh start.

“I was probably burnt out towards the end of the year, and I had to make some decisions as to whether or not I wanted to keep going and what my next couple of years looked like,” she said. “The move to Port Adelaide was an opportunity for a bit of a fresh start after a pretty challenging year with injuries, and that was quite appealing.”

“I just saw a very different opportunity for me in the backend of my career, which I thought would be a very different learning opportunity and opportunity for growth for myself and what I could get out of myself as a footballer and as a person.”

Heading into 2024, Cuthbertson has been named the new captain at Alberton after the legendary Erin Phillips retired at the end of season 2023.

“I’m so honoured,” Cuthbertson said regarding the promotion.

“It’s a massive honour to be voted in by your peers. It’s something I will forever hold in a very high regard, and to know that they have that level of respect for you and trust to lead the team and go out there each week.

“It was a surprise in a way because looking back five years ago I never would have imagined being in this position… I’m so honoured to captain the Port Adelaide football club I will never take this opportunity for granted and want to give it absolutely everything I’ve got.”

Although she is taking over the role from one of the biggest names of the code, Cuthbertson says she is not necessarily feeling any added pressure because of who her predecessor is.

“I think there’s probably naturally an element of pressure anyway, just with the responsibility that comes with it, regardless of who your predecessor is,” she said.

“Obviously Erin’s a phenomenal person, a great athlete and she’s really laid the foundation for this program in the last couple of years. I think I’ll be doing myself a disservice if I try to be like Erin. I’ll lead in my own way and try and do things kind of a bit differently.”

Despite a busy role on field, Cuthbertson said that her life away from footy is also “pretty full-on”.

“I work three days a week at the football club. I’m in the commercial team as a commercial operations coordinator… It’s really important to me, my career off the field and just having that outlet away from football as well. So yeah, I work three days a week and then I’m also doing my MBA part time as well.”