A BRILLIANT midfielder who battled injury at the backend of the AFLW Under 18 Championships last season, Maroochydore prospect Molly Ferguson is one of the most talented players out of the Queensland program. Unlucky to miss out on the National Academy, Ferguson is a natural ball-winner around the stoppages, and uses her athletic gifts to break away and do enormous damage forward of centre.
We spoke to Ferguson at the recent Queensland Preseason Testing Day about her journey from Victoria to the Sunshine Coast, her gamestyle, inspirations and goals for the year ahead.
Q: Molly, tell us a little bit about how your footy journey started?
MF: “Well I first started playing when I was in Melbourne, when I was about eight. My sister wanted to play and then my dad got me to play, and it went from there.”
Q: Making the transition from local footy up into the senior footy, what was that experience like for you?
MF: “It wasn’t too bad. It was definitely a bit of a jump, but I was more excited to play with the bigger and older girls, it was still a pretty big jump but I loved the experience.”
Q: Are you anticipating to play mostly midfield this year?
MF: “Yeah definitely lots of midfield, especially coming into my draft year, and then a bit in the forward as well, a mid/forward rotation.”
Q: You had some injuries last year through Champs to miss the backend of it. How did you find the experience of Champs and then having to deal with injury and recovery?
MF: “Bottom-age year especially playing Queensland, its definitely good to play with the older girls and you get to look up to them, and you get to experience it for the next year when you’re top-age. But having an injury, it was definitely hard to watch on the sidelines, but I just took in the recovery well and then I knew once I got through that, it would be easy after that.”
Q: What do you see as some of the strengths in your own game?
MF: “Definitely my speed and agility. My work rate as well, I take that as one of my big weapons. Mainly just my quickness around the contest.”
Q: What are you looking to improve on at the moment?
MF: “Definitely my groundballs and kicking at speed. Maybe getting a few goals here and there.”
Q: You spend a lot of time on the road playing on the Sunny Coast, what’s the travel been like?
MF: “Normally we carpool every week so its tricky. A few of the girls are up on the Sunny Coast so it makes it better, but definitely the long drives are hard but we know its worth it at the end of the day for the training.”
Q: Which AFLW club do you support, is it Brisbane?
MF: “I support Brissy and Carlton as well. Those two because of my dad.”
Q: How long did you live in Victoria?
MF: “Yeah I lived there for 10 years of my life and then moved up here in 2019.”
Q: Was that just for parents work?
MF: “It was just for the lifestyle, we always came up here for holidays, so then we loved it so much we had to move here.”
Q: Is there a player you look up to or model you game on?
MF: “I would say definitely in the AFLW, Belle Dawes. Because she used to play for Maroochydore and she also went to my school so I definitely look up to her a lot. I love how she plays, she fights so hard for the ball and she’s got the best work rate. I love watching her.”
Q: Finally, what goals do you set for yourself this year?
MF: “Definitely just enjoy the experience, don’t think about it too much. I think I play my best footy when I’m having fun, so enjoying the experience and then just really work hard and see where it gets me at the end of the year. hopefully I get on an AFLW list.”
