HEARTBROKEN. It was the word then Essendon VFL Women’s talent Marianna Anthony used to describe the emotions when overlooked for an inaugural list spot at the Bombers.

Having been at the club for a number of years and worked her way up from being a soccer convert to a key player in the ‘red sash’, the winger had readied herself for her chance at the top level when Essendon entered the AFL Women’s. Instead, it never came.

“I was pretty heartbroken,” Anthony said. “I guess I had played there for all three or four seasons and that had been the goal to keep improving each year and hopefully make it into that team, so when it didn’t happen, I was really devastated.”

Last year was one of “highs and lows” for Anthony, who had established herself in Essendon’s VFL Women’s squad and the excitement around the club was palpable as the Bombers prepared to be one of four expansion sides joining the AFL Women’s in Season 7.

At VFL Women’s level, the Bombers were on fire, top of the ladder, undefeated and raging premiership favourites. Having reached the finals series, and then booking a spot in the grand final, the only thing left on Anthony’s radar was the AFL Women’s Draft.

Taking place on June 29, just four days out from the grand final, Anthony was not sure what to expect, but hoped she would hear her named called out. After all, she had been toiling away building for this moment.

“It was my dream to play in that squad,” Anthony said. “It was definitely hard to come to terms with, and I think it was a challenge because at the same time as the VFLW squad, we were doing so well and also pushing for the finals and then also made it to the grand final. I think it there was the week of the draft was a few days before the grand final.”

Like the consummate professional she is, Anthony had to push aside the feelings of heartbreak and missing out to get to the job at hand, winning a premiership. That she was able to accomplish, as the Bombers saluted 6.6 (42) to 0.7 (7) in a convincing with over Southern Saints. Anthony would go on to have 16 disposals, three clearances and lay five tackles in a memorable victory.

“That week summed up playing sport at an elite level,” Anthony said. “The ultimate high of winning the premiership, but also the low of not getting drafted and picked up. There’s a lot of mixed feelings, but that being said, it was a challenge, however it really allowed me to learn and improve and just work harder to get my opportunity which I’ve now got.”

Once the celebrations had simmered on a memorable season, Anthony looked inside herself to determine what to do about the next season. Having missed out on her best chance to land at the Bombers, a fresh start was what was required. When North Melbourne invited her to be a train-on, she took the opportunity with both hands.

“I guess right after the premiership, the season was finished I was probably unsure of what I was going to do,” Anthony said. “I feel like I had a great experience at Essendon but at the same time, not getting picked up I thought it was probably time to look elsewhere and see what it’s like to see what it’s like to be part of another program.

“When I got the opportunity to train at North, I found it was a really great experience playing with some of the best midfielders in the competition. It really allowed me to take my game to the next level and just get a taste for what it’s like to be amongst an AFLW program.”

Anthony admitted she enjoyed being at Arden Street, and when the AFL Women’s season rolled into the VFL Women’s season, she opted to take up a spot with the royal blue and white for 2023.

“I think being there learning about their structures but me being people and getting to know them and just became comfortable in that environment, so that’s why I continued to train and then pick them as my VFL team,” Anthony said. ‘I thought it was an opportunity to pay a bit more on the inside midfield and that was able to allowed me to showcase a bit more of my talent and helped me get drafted in the end.”

Anthony’s VFL Women’s career with North Melbourne would last just two games, but in the best possible way. She collected 20 and 22 disposals playing on the inside, while laying a combined 23 tackles across that fortnight as the Roos defeated Geelong and Williamstown. Then along came the Supplementary Draft.

In an unusual twist, Anthony was at her regular training session with her North Melbourne teammates, when she found out she would be an AFL Women’s player. Instead of with the Roos like many other VFLW players who earned promotions to the elite level, Anthony would be crossing to neighbouring club Carlton at Ikon Park.

“It was a short experience at North, it was a really great experience, but it was pretty unusual draft night I was actually at training and I didn’t know how exactly the draft was going to go,” Anthony said. “I literally just went to training and didn’t know when I was going to get called. There was a screen during training and we went over to it at some point and I remember seeing them stopping them to hear them call out the name and I thought ‘this isn’t me, surely’.”

It was in fact Anthony, who was Carlton’s third selection on the night, taken at Pick 19 in the draft. Her dream had been realised, but of course there was the elephant in the room of now realising it was her last night with the Kangaroos.

“All my teammates were super lovely, it was a really bittersweet moment as well because if it was funny I had to leave as that was my final night at North and the next day I walked into the club at Carlton,” Anthony said. “It was a really surreal experience getting phone calls from a million different people and messages from all the players and staff.

“Carlton was so nice and it was really quite heartwarming to be opened into a club in such a nice way and the next day getting to meet everyone just made the whole experience really special.”

They say good things come to those who wait, and for Anthony, that is certainly the case, overcoming the heartbreak of initially missing out, to earning her chance through her third AFLW-linked club.

>> COMING UP: Mariana Anthony’s journey from soccer to football