WHILE the industry as a whole considers Grace McIntyre‘s year a breakout one, hearing from the player herself it was more about consistency than any one moment that catapulted her up draft boards. The Sandringham Dragons utility was pleased with her year, even though from a team perspective she did not quite achieve what she had hoped at season’s start.

“Obviously as a team at Sandy I don’t think we really ended up where we wanted to at the end, not being able to make finals,” McIntyre said. “I don’t think it really reflected what we could do as a team. “Obviously lots of injuries coming in and out of the side didn’t help us with that, but I think personally, it was a consistent performance, I don’t think my worst game was that much of a difference to my best game.

“But I don’t think I had a breakout game as some say. “It was a good consistent performance both Metro campaign and Sandy as well.”

McIntyre’s rise to being one of the most hard-running wingers where she breaks down opposition defensive zones and racks up metres gained for fun. Also spending time behind the ball and in attack later in the season, the Dragons prospect said her understanding of the game had definitely increased this year.

“I think I definitely developed as a player both on and off the field, but especially on-field, like my footy IQ,” McIntyre said. “Just being able to be surrounded by those elite players and some of the best players in Australia at Academy especially, and at Metro.

” During trainings you just learn so much from all of them, all of the coaches you get to be surrounded by. I think that definitely helped with my development as well.”

McIntyre’s athleticism and footy IQ are big ticks, but she is not underestimating the amount of development still to come in her game.

“Definitely still my fundamentals, my kicking, handballs, groundballs, all that sort of stuff. I really think I’ve got a long way to go with them,” McIntyre said. “I’ve developed them a bit in the past year, but they’re still a long way to go and got to do lots of work to get that right, but I think that will really help me execute in the game.”

Given her versatility to play across all three lines, McIntyre still believed the wing was her best spot going forward as it was where she was “most comfortable”.

“I’ve played there most of my time at Sandy, so learning the positioning I’ve become most familiar with,” she said. “But also a bit of half-back, able to have a bit more of a free licence to go and swap the role and make my forward defend, which I think that makes a great defender.”

The well-spoken McIntyre is taking a holistic approach to her football, with the Dragons prospect keen to build her off-field connections as much as her on-field ability when she lands at an AFLW club.

“I think showing commitment both on and off the field, being able to build the relationships off the field with your teammates,” McIntyre said of the first thing she’d do in preseason. “I think the social aspect of a team is really important and it helps to reflect those relationships onfield, and I think the best teams have the best relationships off-field.

“But being able to show my commitment on-field by going to the extra trainings, doing the pre-pre-seasons, all the things around the club, being a good club person, volunteering. “That will help me showcase who I am.”

As for her goals next year once her major target of being drafted is accomplished, McIntyre said it was all about development.

“I definitely want to keep developing all my training habits,” she said. “I think I’ve still got a long way to go with them, and that will help develop my game even more by tuning into those training habits in preseason, in the off-season and during the season as well.

“I think hopefully if I did end up getting drafted, it would be to get a game or even if I’m playing in the VFL or in the reserves team or even at training, just performing well, playing to my strengths and being who I am on the field as well as off.”

DRAFT FEATURES:

New South Wales: Evie Bowie, Frances Walsh, Majella Day
Queensland: Zoe Petrides, Summer Browning
South Australia: Emily Mableson
Vic Country: Greea McKeegan, Lily Milner
Vic Metro: Bailee Martin, Tayla Olivieri, Maddison Meagher, Brylee Anderson
Western Australia: Lexi Strachan