STORIES like Brooke Bailey do not come around too often. While cross-coder journeys are nothing new, few have represented – let alone captained – their nation at international level. However for the Sydney Swans train-on and three-time East Coast Eagles premiership player, that is exactly the case.

“I grew up playing Oztag since the age of five years-old and was lucky enough to represent Australia from 2018 to last year and I was lucky enough to captain the Australian side as well twice at World Cups,” Bailey said. “Been lucky enough to travel to New Zealand and Ireland as well for the sport.”

With her father heavily involved in Oztag, it was natural for the now 22-year-old to follow that path. However in the year of 2021 when the world was still impacted by the global pandemic, Bailey had the choice between going to rugby sevens and Australian rules football. The easy choice was the former given she lived in the Sydney region, however Bailey was soon to be pulled towards the latter.

“I was considering going to rugby sevens,” she said. “But a few people I worked with played at the local club, one of my best friends played at East Coast Eagles so her and the coach were trying to convince me to go and play at East Coast so I decided to not follow my dreams with rugby 7s and give AFL a crack, which was new to me because I’ve grown up playing a non-contact sport.”

Bailey unknowingly just happened to stumble into what was about to be a dynasty at the East Coast Eagles. Though she started in Division 1, Bailey finished out the year in the Premier Division, before the competition was cut short due to the ongoing pandemic.

The next season was a whirlwind for the then 20-year-old as she cemented her spot in the Premier Division from Round 1 and got to don the red and white of the Sydney Swans during the winter series mid-year prior to the inaugural Sydney Swans AFLW season.

“They did a open training session to pick cross-coders there, you had to apply and I was lucky enough to be invited and we did a bit of trial match,” Bailey said. “They cut it down to four girls and I joined the winter series that they did, they usually do the summer series but the winter series was a bit of new one that they did.

“I made that one with a few girls that have been around the Swans for a little bit, and it was like a 10-week training program, I got to play two games there.”

Bailey would return to play for the Eagles for the rest of the AFL Sydney Premier Division season, winning a premiership in her first full year of football. However more good news was to come for the aspiring AFLW player.

“I was at work one day and got a call from [Sydney Swans coach] Scotty Gowans and said ‘hey, would you be interested in being an AFLW train-on for the Swans next year?’ and I said ‘100 per cent, lock me in’, so went down that path and I’ve been train-on for the last two years at the Swans, so it’s where I’m at now but it all happened pretty quick, also a lot of work that’s been put into as well,” Bailey said.

Since then she has added two more flags to her CV with the Eagles, and remained a train-on for the Swans throughout the 2024 AFLW season. She also had the unique experience of representing her state amongst the best from AFL Sydney. Now, having gained all that experience, she looks to take her game to the top level.

“I was so grateful for the opportunity just to be around those elite athletes on the field and away from the field and how they present themselves and I’ve learnt so much off each of the individual girls at the Swans and from the coaching staff as well,” Bailey said.

“I’m probably not the biggest player on the field but to build that foundation to be strong in contests and work on my weaknesses in order to make me a stronger player has always been my focus in whichever sport.

“I’m always quite competitive and like to be at the top of any sport I participate in, and I think just being able to keep myself motivated and on routine and be a sponge and learn off everyone around me and that’s really helped me put into perspective what I want as a train-on and at the end of the day as a train-on, I’m there to help the AFLW girls be better, but I’m also there to learn off the best, and be the best and hope that one day I can be in their shoes as well.”

But just how did Australia’s Oztag captain be within reach of an AFLW contract when one sport is non-contact? Bailey said there were other elements that made her skills in that code transferrable to the footy field.

“The transition into more so the contact, I found it a little bit tricky, but my strengths as a player has always been my pressure going from Oztag the frontal pressure, obviously can’t tackle in Oztag but the intent to get there and pressure the opposition has always been there so that crossed over nicely for me,” she said.

“Just my evasiveness and agility to get out of situations and kind of get away from the pack and kick the ball into some space for my teammates to run onto has always been a strength of mine. “It was more the contact that I found a little bit tricky, but in staying that I loved the contact and loved the pressure that I could apply to benefit my team and myself in those situations.”

Running out alongside Sydney star Chloe Molloy, and intently watching the work of Richmond league best and fairest winner Monique Conti has been a focal point for Bailey, though they were not alone.

“Obviously they’re very similar but different in the same sense,” Bailey said. “They get in and get out nice and quick, Mon Conti relies more on the handball chain receives, where Moy (Molloy) more so looks for the kick chain and regather and hit a target.

“But just the concept of how evasive they are, and how they’re energiser bunnies and they’re everywhere, that’s very much how i want to play my game off moving forward, and definitely have studied and looked at key elements of their game and what I can bring into my game.

“I don’t necessarily I have one person I look up to, there’s little bits from every person’s position from the Swans that I like to bring into my game. Like an Alana Woodward, she’s in the backline but her hunger for the footy and how she wants to win those one-on-ones is what I like to apply in any concept whether you’re in the backline, mids or the forwards.

“I think you can learn off every individual player, but as a whole Mon Conti and Chloe Molloy are definitely my idols in that sense.”

While those stars have impacted her on the field, Bailey’s biggest influence has come far closer to home.

“I’ve had a few, but I just think my main one’s probably my dad to be honest,” she said.

“Growing up playing Oztag he’s always been supportive, he’s coached a few of the teams I’ve been involved in, but just being able to hold me accountable and just back me in on everything that I’ve put my mind to, and just having someone that believes that you can make it, it’s always good to have your self trust and commit to it.

“But having that little voice in your head that knows you can make it if you commit to it, he’s definitely been one of my rolemodels growing up in the Oztag world.”

Bailey was not immune to criticism growing up through Oztag, with some “outside noise” surrounding her selection, but she never had any doubts that she had earned it, and now she has a new goal in minid.

“When I grew up Oztag would talk ‘your father’s the coach’ you’ve got all this outside noise, but for me it’s always been I’ve put in the work and deserved my spot from the Oztag perspective,” Bailey said.

“But to be able to make an AFLW list on my own and know that my dad’s just been there for support and he’s not necessarily in the coaching world, that would be a massive achievement for me and just prove that everything dad kind of said was right.”

The 2024 AFLW Draft is just 48 hours away, and Bailey knows it is not the be all or end all. She admits that with 18 clubs in the league, she had “definitely thought about” relocation if it meant achieving her dream. She was happy and loyal to the Swans, and could not thank the coaching staff enough, but “at the end of the day it’s footy”.

“Things happen, opportunities come up in different places and I’ve definitely considered if I’m lucky enough and a club picks me up in the draft or even after the draft and they’re interstate I’d definitely consider the move because the end goal is to play professional footy, so if that means moving interstate then I’ll do so,” she said.

As for what the opportunity would mean for the 22-year-old, she said “the world”.

 “I think the biggest reward for me would be to be able to make the list initially, but then being able to prove the coach and my teammates that I’ll do anything for them on the field or off the field just to show them how good of a person I am, but most importantly how good of a teammate I am and I show that on the field as well with bumps and my shepherds for my teammates,” Bailey said.

“If it means I have to put my body on the line for a teammate I’ll do it and if I need to prove to a coach or prove to my teammates that I need to be there, then I’ll do everything I can to prove that point, but it would mean the absolute world to make it in the professional sport where I can just say that I’ve made it in Oztag, but I’ve also made it in AFLW.

“I think that’s something one can only dream of, but obviously the hard work and dedication you put into it will be the reward at the end of the day knowing how much I’ve worked for it.”