{"id":125612,"date":"2023-03-02T15:57:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T05:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=125612"},"modified":"2023-03-02T15:57:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T05:57:06","slug":"lynchs-long-journey-to-the-darebin-falcons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2023\/03\/02\/lynchs-long-journey-to-the-darebin-falcons\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynch’s long journey to the Darebin Falcons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AFTER being burnt out by her first sporting love, Darebin Falcons ruck Sally Lynch<\/a>\u2019s sporting career went in a very different direction, and she has not looked back since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally from Albury on the Victoria-New South Wales border, Lynch first plied her trade in soccer, and she got pretty far with her talents in the world game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I started when I was about nine, which is kind of late compared to some of the other girls I was playing with,” she said. “I was really awful for a couple of years, actively avoided the ball, was very shy, was very scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But I was lucky enough to get a train-on spot with the local rep team, I guess the coach took a bit of a chance on me really, and then it just kind of clicked for me and within a year I kind of progressed through all the levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I made the NSW team and I was the captain of that team in my first year. I made the Australian All-Star squad and then the Mini Matildas squad of 30, and then played in the NSW country team after that… I guess it came to a point at the end of high school where I sort of had to choose between going to play college in America or staying here and sort of going to uni, and at that point I was pretty burnt out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what made her fall in love with footy, Lynch said that the burn out from soccer sparked an investigation into other possible sporting pursuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think I was probably looking for a bit of a change,” she said. “I grew up playing soccer and didn\u2019t really have anything to do with footy. I played a little bit at school but there wasn\u2019t really, that I knew of, a league or anything around where I\u2019m from in Albury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One of my friends just said they were starting a league in Albury and said \u2018do you want to come down and have a kick?\u2019 and I said \u2018sure\u2019. It was super fun, I guess it\u2019s kind of all the things I love about soccer plus being able to tackle and use your body a lot more, so it suited me a little bit more than soccer as well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beginning of Lynch’s footy journey was a little bit \u201csporadic\u201d. Turning out in a handful of games across a few years in Albury while she was still playing soccer, she then decided to give the VFLW a try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being encouraged by Collingwood VFLW coach Chloe McMillan<\/em><\/strong>, Lynch came down to one of Collingwood\u2019s VFLW trial days and was successful. She played there for a year, but as it was 2019 which was the year Collingwood won the flag, she struggled to push her way into a very strong side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for some more opportunities, she decided a non-aligned club like Darebin would be the way to go. She’s been at the Falcons ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lynch started as a ruck in Albury thanks to her height, but as she moved down to Melbourne and was not among the top two tallest players in the side, she transitioned to becoming a forward. However, after a previous Darebin ruck retired, Lynch was asked to return to the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although she is certainly open to making it to the AFLW if she was given the chance, Lynch is realistic about where she sits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I definitely wouldn\u2019t say no if the opportunity arose,” she said. “I think especially with playing in the ruck being definitely undersized it’s a bit tricky to sort of crack in. I\u2019m enjoying VFL, I think I\u2019ve got a lot more development to happen at this level, but I definitely would be open to more opportunities if they arose.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentions<\/span><\/span><\/div>