A NATURAL leader, Gippsland Power captain Zali Gallagher enjoyed a breakout top-age campaign mostly off a wing, earning Vic Country representation at the AFLW Under 18 National Championships. While experiencing the highs of football, Gallagher also experienced the lows, tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the second half of the season – her second ACL in her junior career.
Despite the injury, Gallagher showed enough to earn a State Draft Combine invitation, and while the Power skipper could not undertake the testing, still attended and is hungry to dot her ‘i’s’ and cross her ‘t’s’ in order to come back stronger and fitter than ever at the end of her recovery.
We spoke to Gallagher at the State Draft Combine about her season and how her recovery is going.
Q: Zali, first off, how is your knee going?
ZG: “Yeah it’s definitely feeling better now. I think I was a bit slow to start with, but I’m getting there.
Q: What were the initial emotions when you first did it? Did you think it was an ACL?
ZG: “I tried not to, because obviously three years ago I did my left one so I tried to stay positive but yeah it is what it is, can’t do much now.”
Q: Despite the injury, you still got a State Combine invite, what was that like when you received that news?
ZG: “Yeah it was definitely really exciting, it was definitely a positive in the not so great period of time I was having, it was so cool.”
Q: Obviously excluding the way it ended, in regards do your 2024 season, what was that like helping lead Gippsland and then getting through to represent Vic Country?
ZG: “Definitely it was so cool. Last year being first year back, I set myself the goal this year to try and get a Country trial game or something like that, so I was ecstatic to get to captain Gippy, that was awesome.”
Q: Have you always played as a wing or played inside a bit?”
ZG: “I reckon I’ve played a bit of everywhere, through the junior footy with the boys I played a lot on the wing and then had stints in the backline here and there, little bit inside and just a bit of everywhere. Not a great forward but I could learn!”
Q: In terms of your game, what do you see as some of your strengths?
ZG: “Definitely my speed and my pressure on the ball.”
Q: Outside of recovering from your knee injury, what are you looking to improve on at the moment?
ZG: “Probably my accuracy with kicking, bit of endurance as well. “But I can always improve on anything.”
Q: In terms of going forward, what’s the plan with rehab and getting back to footy?
ZG: “I think one of my main goals at the moment is to get back to running, but obviously I won’t be allowed to until about three months, so still got a bit to go, but between here and there I think it will be build back strength, get moving again and working into running and then work through the motions as they come. It’s a slow process.”
Q: What AFL/AFLW club do you support?
ZG: “AFL, Essendon, a bit of Sydney. Then AFLW, Melbourne.”
Q: What’s the reason behind supporting those clubs?
ZG: “My mum goes for Essendon and my dad and brother are Sydney. Then with Melbourne, a girl I played junior footy with got drafted to Melbourne and I wasn’t really following yet, I just thought ‘oh yeah I’ll go for them’.”
Q: Is there a player you model your game on at the top level?
ZG: “Not really. I’ve never really thought about it like that. I’ve just played my way and stuck to my strengths.”
Q: Who’s had the most influence on your individual career?
“Probably mum and dad. Just the support they’ve given, they’re always so willing to help and just all of it.”
Q: If you did get the opportunity, what would it mean to play at the top level?
ZG: “It would mean everything. I’d be so ecstatic and beside myself. If it comes up, I’d love it. If it doesn’t, it is what it is, can’t do much about it.”
