THE Melbourne Football Club of season one of the AFL Women’s is a very different outfit than the season nine iteration of the side, but one of the staples of the side has been defender turned winger Sarah Lampard.

The 27 year old is one of only four members of the current list – alongside Paxy Paxman, Lauren Pearce and Lily Mithen – who are still on Melbourne’s list from the squad list for the inaugural 2017 season.

She said that “it’s really special” to be one of so few season one Dees still at the club.

“I love being at this club, so it’s been really cool watching lots of people come in and out and that’s the program evolved over nine seasons now,” she said. “But it’s something that I really love being a part of with me and the three other girls, but yeah, it’s really special.

“I love what this club’s done for me, but then also what we’re doing for each other. So I’m really proud to belong to this club.”

One of the biggest chances Lampard has seen in the evolution of the game since 2017 has been “the professionalism in the game standard or the quality of players.”

“So where in the first years it kind of felt like we had a game style but we couldn’t quite execute it because we probably weren’t skilled enough,” she said. “Now it’s like, we’ve got a really nuanced type of game style where players are playing to their strengths and playing specific roles and we can execute it as well and if we’re not executing it, it’s what’s going wrong, how do we break it down, how can we improve.” 

One of the biggest moments of her AFLW career was that premiership flag Melbourne won back in season seven in late 2022.

She described winning the flag as “incredible.”

“It was such an awesome season, and I think what made it so special was the way that we like sort of play for each other and when we’re out in the field, it was just a very much a connected team,” she said.

“But then it also been the kind of build up from the first season that we started playing. We were kind of super close to going all the way a few seasons in a row, so when we finally broke through and won it, it was just like a sense of relief or just achievement that we’d finally done it and finally broken through and done something that felt like we’d kept getting so close but we couldn’t quite break through just yet. But I think that stemmed from that connection that I was talking about and then also, it felt like that year we had a real belief in each other to achieve that too.”

She agreed that the premiership felt extra special because the Dees had gone so close so many times before.

“It felt like every year we started kind of getting closer and closer, but then because we had a few heartbreaks, like a prelim lost, a grand final lost, it was kind of like, okay, let’s just do it, we can do it and we’re capable, and then when we finally did it, it was like wow,” she said. “It was so powerful. “

There has been a few key changes to Lampard’s life as a Dee in the last 12 months or so.

Firstly, last season saw her have a bit of a position change, moving from a full time defender to more of a winger. She does not mind whether she plays defence or on the wing to her own admission.

“I feel like I’m suited to both,” she said. “I feel like I’m kind of a pretty defensively minded player but I feel like that helps when I play on the wing because I’m quite empathetic to the defenders so I’m quite likely to run back hard to help them, but I like both roles.

“I think there’s slight differences between both but also very, very similar roles so sort of whatever the team needs from me I’m happy to play either role.”

The second is being voted back into the leadership group after a few seasons without official membership.

“It’s pretty cool to get voted in by the girls,” Lampard said.

“Obviously in terms of opinions and weight I put on opinions, it’s my teammates. So to get voted back in is a pretty humbling position to be in and I’m proud of being in that role in that sense because I really respect their opinions. But I feel ready too, I feel like I’m in a good spot personally and football wise to give back to the team.”

Things have come a long way for Lampard, who originally fell in love with Aussie Rules because of family. 

“Growing up, I’d always go to the games with my family and we’d always be out having a kick after the game, outside the G in Yarra Park,” she said. “But then my brothers played footy as well, so I’d always tag along to their games. But it was kind of always something that brought my family together, so it was easy to fall in love with it because my family loved it so much.”