SWAN Districts midfielder Jaime Henry is sending a message to AFLW club recruiters that she is a whole new player and person. The former National Academy member and West Australian vice-captain knows the knocks that came with her omission from the 2023 AFLW Draft.

Despite clearly being a talented footballer, Henry ran a nine-minute plus 2km time-trial and was given some strong feedback in regards to her speed. There were excuses back then – she was coming off a horrible corkie injury sustained in 2022 that carried on into the new year – but she never did, nor never will, look for excuses.

After missing out on the AFLW Draft, Henry relocated to Victoria where she played for the Western Bulldogs in the hope of earning a train-on spot. Unfortunately luck was not on her side, and instead the West Australian focused on just playing some consistent football.

Henry became a mainstay in the midfield, but after playing throughout the entire season, she missed out on playing in the Bulldogs’ grand final side.

“I think that just having that pivotal moment I was like ‘alright well I want to be a professional athlete and I know that I have the determination for it so it’s like what can I actually do to get there’,” Henry said recalling that time 12 months ago.

At that point Henry was still nowhere near where she wanted to be in order to prove everyone wrong. She knew it would be a hard road ahead, there would be challenges and to completely transform the side of her game that everyone knocked would take time.

In her first 2km time-trial back, the Swan Districts talent ran a 9:42. That was not going to be enough. A month later prior to Christmas, Henry had already shaved more than 30 seconds off that time and it would not be long before a sub-nine time-trial was beckoning.

Over the next 12 months, Henry dropped a remarkable 10kg as she went on to get better and better as the WAFLW season went on. Covering the ground like never before, Henry’s fitness transformation was paying dividends. Her first month of the 2025 WAFLW season saw her average 20.3 disposals before having a breakout performance of 30 touches against East Fremantle in Round 6.

Through the middle part of the season, Henry recorded three consecutive games of 30-plus disposals – 36, 39 and 37 – while also ramping up her defensive pressure. It culminated in a remarkable 34disposal game in the first final against the Sharks, while on the biggest stage of grand final day, Henry laid 22 tackles – not a typo – to go with her 22 disposals as her Swans fell agonisingly short to Claremont.

“Everyone says their attack on the footy but I think I’ve got that whiteline fever,” Henry said of her on-field hunger. “When I cross the line I’m very competitive in that sense. “But more so I think my biggest trait that I find kind of sets me out from others is just my self drive. “Everything that I’ve done in the past year and what not and once I’ve figured it out, it’s all been self driven.”

Henry’s results speak for themselves, but they did not come without time and effort. The Swan Districts talent invested in a personal strength and conditioning coach and nutrition coach to help her with getting to where she is today.

“This is all the money that I’m working for to get those resources that are going to make me better,” she said. “All of this stuff is self-driven and I just want to be the best person on the track.”

if you want to get an insight into Henry’s mindset, the hard-working midfielder explained how a simple training drill can be a way to push yourself that extra one per cent and know you can max out on game day and then find another wind.

“I just think of just doing running sessions, you’re doing your sprints up and back, some people might turn just before the cone, but it’s like no I’m going that extra inch to get to the cone and go around it,” Henry said. “Those are little one percenters, because then that gives me confidence going into a game knowing that I haven’t cut corners.”

Henry knows and understands the critical feedback she received as a junior and that same player who could not crack nine minutes in a 2km time-trial 12 months ago, returned to the track in red-hot form for Swan Districts last month. In a jaw-dropping performance, Henry clocked 7:53 – that’s right almost two complete minutes off her 2km time-trial.

“I’ve sacrificed a lot in the past year just to get to where I want to be and I’m far from finished,” Henry said. “I’m really excited for next year, I feel like going into my preseason my 2k is two minutes down already from this time last year. If I was able to have the season that I had this year, it’s almost like that’s really exciting for what I can maybe potentially do next year.”

It is not just a case of dominating off-field athletically, but Henry also has the numbers to prove she can get it done on-field now, getting to more contests than ever before, and running at a high speed that many would never had thought she could get to. Her top speed of 26.9km/h registered as the second highest from the Swan Districts midfield group, while covering more than 8.5km/h per game – third most in the entire team.

Henry is not done yet though, she is far from it in fact. Every one percenter she can add to her game to give her an edge, she will. But all she knows is, she has never been more prepared to make that step up, and would love the opportunity to get even better by earning a train-on spot at AFLW level.

“Looking back in my draft year, if I was where I am now physically and mentally, I personally feel like I’d be on a list,” she said. “It’s just building back up to that and if an opportunity comes, it comes. “I just don’t want to leave any stone unturned. “Next year I’m going to give it my all like I did this year.”