KATHERINE Smith‘s AFLW career has taken turns that even the experienced Giants defender did not expect.

After initially being drafted by Melbourne in the 2016 draft, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury saw her reflecting and ultimately making the big move up to the Giants.

She initially did the ACL “first session back post Christmas” heading into the 2020 season “just playing a really random handball game and unfortunately did my knee”.

“I think it was really difficult because we also had Covid as well,” Smith said. “So did the knee, obviously you feel just like you can’t impact the team as well so I really tried hard to kind of influence by maybe helping young girls through like coaching etcetera.”

The injury gave her time for reflection.

“I think probably the biggest part about my ACL journey was it kind of made me think about my life outside of football, and that was probably a big key driver in my decision to actually move to the Giants, the fact that I did want to kind of have a different life outside of football and not just stay in Melbourne my whole entire life,” Smith said.

“I always thought I’d be a one club player and absolutely love the Melbourne Football Club and still have some really great friends there and Mick’s an amazing coach. But for me, it was a lifestyle decision for me.

“I think for me the cold and not living on the beach was not making me the happiest footballer outside of life. I wanted to make a decision to make sure that I was happier outside of football, and the Giants has always seemed to be a place where a lot of my friends have gone and really felt welcomed.

“Firstly, that they work really, really hard, but they also find their place at the Giants as well, which is I think a huge credit to the culture that we have. There’s like, you can be yourself, you can be uniquely yourself and you’re welcomed and you’re accepted there.”

Smith was one of the first 18-year-olds ever drafted into the AFLW, and has really grown up with every twist and turn of the league’s formative years. She that being one of those first 18-year-olds “was pretty surreal”.

“If I’m completely honest, I probably only really reflected on how  cool it is recently. That was probably being a part of the inaugural season when I’ve been so young, I’ve kind of been able to see the evolution of the AFLW season and we’ll be able to continue to see the evolution of it moving forward.”

Smith has come along way since her early days in the sport in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Her path into the sport is similar to many of her fellow AFLW stars, following her brother along to Auskick at a young age.

“I just fell in love with obviously being connected as a family and having something on a Sunday morning that we all did together,” Smith said.

“That’s my first memory of AFL, but then from there, the competitiveness and the physicality of it, it’s always a challenge. There’s something that’s always kind of driven me to succeed. But these days it’s kind of awesome that I still love the game and I think you get so many great connections through making new friends and having that kind of like second family as well.”

Although she has spent a bit of time in the midfield, defence is where her heart lies.

“I just absolutely love that kind of gritty defender nature you have to be as a defender,” she said.

It has been a bit of a tough few seasons for those in orange, but Smith is hopeful things are on the up for her and her team mates in 2024.

“I think we’ve been on a growth journey the last few years … I think we had a really great few seasons of growing and developing our game plan, which is a big, big key part. Obviously you can’t do that within a year and there’s lots of challenges with that as well.

“I’m really confident that we’re going to have a really good season. I think our gameplan is going to stack up and obviously we’ve injected some new talent, some younger talent into the team as well, which is super exciting. I think it’s a season where we can perform a lot better and it’s super exciting to see what we can do.” 

As if being a key member of GWS’ backline was not enough to keep Smith busy, she is also working at AFL NSW in the women’s and girls team “trying to help provide more opportunities for women and girls to get involved in AFL, across coaching, playing, etcetera” while also studying her masters in business.