{"id":97568,"date":"2022-02-12T15:01:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T05:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=97568"},"modified":"2022-02-12T15:01:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T05:01:04","slug":"davies-ready-to-learn-from-suns-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2022\/02\/12\/davies-ready-to-learn-from-suns-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Davies ready to learn from Suns’ best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DESPITE representing Queensland at the AFLW Under 19 Championships, being a Southport Sharks junior, playing for Bond University in the QAFLW grand final and being a part of the SUNS Academy program, Giselle Davies<\/a> believes she has plenty more development to come throughout her football journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davies opened up firstly what got her into playing football, reflecting on her journey and challenges faced along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was definitely one of those people that just played all sports including swimming, athletics, touch, netball, I did a bit of this and that,” Davies said. “My friend, Annise (Annise Bradfield<\/a>), who\u2019s inactive on the AFLW list for the Suns, we were in the same class in school and she said, \u201ccome down to training, I think you\u2019d like it, it will definitely be fun.\u201d I came down to training with her at Southport Sharks and I just fell in love with the sport to be honest. Annise kept begging me to come for so long. She\u2019s like \u201cYou\u2019ll like it, you\u2019ll like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI responded with \u201cNo, I don\u2019t know even know what AFL is, I\u2019ve never even watched a game in my life.\u201d I just went down there, and it was so good. I just knew straight away, I knew I wanted to play it. I\u2019m glad she begged me to come to training, otherwise I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be playing AFL in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s just been such a good progression since I started playing footy and being involved in heaps of different teams. When you get older, you start playing in different squads and you meet most of the same girls that follow through the pathways, it\u2019s just been great. Just the experience, in so many different teams in different pathways, it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be able to travel at such a young age and travel to different states and meet girls that you don\u2019t usually play with. You just create friendships that you wouldn\u2019t really anywhere else. Honestly, when I started playing, I didn\u2019t even think about it of making it this far. You slowly get into the system and as you start and the years go on and you get older, you think \u2018I know this is something that I can actually do.\u2019 On draft night, it just seemed so surreal. It\u2019s been a great year. Since I started footy a few years ago, it\u2019s been a journey since then. I\u2019ve just loved everything apart of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor most people, at the age of 18, where you\u2019re going through year 12, it\u2019s such a big year where a lot of people, especially a lot of girls, stopped playing because people want to focus on working or school. Footy sometimes isn\u2019t a priority for everyone. For a year like year 12, it can be tough and there\u2019s just too many things going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are definitely times where you\u2019re in your final showing and you have to go to school, then go to training and there\u2019s so many things going on. It obviously shows in the end, things do pay off but in times when you\u2019re in Grade\/Year 12, it\u2019s a lot of pressure and you feel like there\u2019s so much going on, it can be tough for people. It\u2019s important to have a balance and you learn as you go and it\u2019s something I\u2019m definitely still learning. It\u2019s just that balance between footy and everything else that\u2019s going on in your life, it\u2019s really important to find.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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QAFLW experience, getting drafted and flourishing in the AFL Women\u2019s environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Having a successful QAFLW campaign with Bond University and apart of the development team with the Gold Coast Suns, Davies shares her experiences of the QAFLW competition, what it meant to get drafted and sharing her thoughts on the Sun\u2019s on the rise and being apart of the team in season 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was definitely different,” she said. “When I went from playing at Sharks, in Under 17\u2019s, I played division one at the same time, I played both under 17\u2019s and division one the year before. Going to Bond University, it was a very different environment. It was a lot more professional; everyone is a lot older; the teams are more established, and it\u2019s very well set up. I feel it was a bit different for me, I was driving 35-40 minutes by myself to training a few times a week, rather than 10 minutes to Sharks. It was a bit of a jump and I felt like I was a lot more dependent when I was playing at Bond. But it was great, it\u2019s so good. There are so many teams. In the under 17\u2019s competition we were playing in, there were possibly only four teams that would play over and over and over, the season and just having a different person to verse a different opponent every week and not having to triple up to university, it was great exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was so weird. I never knew before, but I don\u2019t know what pick or anything. When my name was called out, it was like obviously, they had organised the whole Suns team to come out and be there. I felt like for everyone to be there when my name got called out, all my family there, it was so crazy, so crazy and everything came after it as well. It was a crazy few days. You get to training the next day and you\u2019re apart of the team, your name goes up on the locker, you have your number, you get your kit, and you can get started like straight into it. It was good, it was fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great, everything\u2019s so structure, you know what you\u2019re doing, 10 weeks before it\u2019s happening and you know what you\u2019re doing, three months before it\u2019s happening. It\u2019s like an elite high performing environment and the facilities we have access to, the coaches and staff, treatments and massages, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u201cYou get so looked after so well. The vibes around the group have been good. A lot of the girls, like we\u2019re quite a young team. I\u2019ve played with quite a few of them, obviously Bond and programs the years before when we were a bit younger, I didn\u2019t really know them quite well back then. I feel there\u2019s quite a young team dynamic in the team and it\u2019s really easy to get on and take and teach a few friends who is on the same team as you. You learn to become close because you see them, for example, five times a week sometimes. You definitely spend a lot of time with the older ones, or the older girls in the team and they are supportive and always feeding to you like \u2018this is what you can do, this is what you can do.\u2019 Everyone\u2019s just awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like this year, I knew it was going to be my development year. Obviously, I want to debut, and I want to play a few games. I feel like this season, there\u2019s a lot of things that you want to work on and learn and progress and that doesn\u2019t really show this year. Being in this environment, I want to know what\u2019s coming and what I can work towards in the next few years. It\u2019s a real eye opener. I\u2019ve definitely been trying to do everything I can to do each week. When my time is, hopefully I can just put my best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Life outside of footy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Davies opened up what life is like off the field, her pre-game rituals and what she enjoyed doing in her spare time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing a Bachelor of Education. I\u2019m just about to start this year coming but I\u2019m about to do year two this year coming, in March. I\u2019ve already done one year. I\u2019m going to be doing that the new few years and last year when I left school in 2020. Last year I was doing a bit of labouring in the house, doing a bit of cleaning at a school in the mornings. Now, I\u2019m doing a bit of office work to get off my feet because I was doing so much manual labor last year. I\u2019ve been studying really. It\u2019s a good course too. A few of the girls in the team are doing, we\u2019re all in the exact same class when we have been. Some reason, some of the girls started the course at the same time so we definitely collab on the assignments a little bit. It It\u2019s good to have people going through and doing the same thing. When you’re studying and training, it\u2019s nice to have people who are they haven\u2019t done the same amount as you, you don\u2019t have to feel like you\u2019re the only one behind. We help each other, it\u2019s good, we have a good little group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really have any rituals. I like to have an easy morning, not like stress. I used to follow a plan and have everything timed out and be really structured. I like to take the day easy and pretend like I\u2019m not even playing I\u2019ve got my uniform on or try to do a lot of big things. I like to enjoy the morning and not overthink because, for example playing in the night, being distracted all day is a waste of energy and do things that are easy. I like to go to the beach or go for a way and things like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m always training, studying or working. When I\u2019m not doing those certain things, I like to just chill out and not do too much. Sometimes, if you need to lay down, watch a movie or just go to the beach, nothing crazy. When you\u2019re always doing things, downtime or not too busy, I like to full have relaxing time. If you don\u2019t have it, you soon find out once you start to burn out a little bit. It\u2019s important to relax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Toughest opponents, staying motivated, growing as a player in the AFLW and siblings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Davies shared the toughest opponents she\u2019s come up against, what the sport of football means to her, how the AFLW competition has shaped as a player and the type of role models that have helped her along her journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe obviously had a pretty good season last year Bond. We were undefeated, apart from losing to Queensland Uni, in the grand final. In one of the other semifinals, but they were definitely a really good team last year for sure. People are applying and more people are converting to the sport. I feel the pool of athletes that have come into the sport, you can tell that the comp each year is just getting better and better, the numbers are insane. They\u2019ve been having a QUAFL team and then there\u2019s the development, then division one and division two. There\u2019s just so many opportunities to play now which is great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love my Pinterest and I have so many quotes and can\u2019t think of one because I have a whole board of quotes on my Pinterest. I love the quote \u201cIf you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe meaning of footy is a place where you can go and it\u2019s such a relief where you can interact with people, and you meet people that you never would have thought you would generally get on with. You meet people constantly and develop those relationships that are so strong, and I feel like it\u2019s something that brings everyone together. It\u2019s a great thing when you see the crowds and it\u2019s such a united thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of the things that we learn, some of the guidance the girls would give me, you really have got to work hard and if you don\u2019t indefinitely should that, you want to show the team what you\u2019ve got. The veterans in the team and putting that into my game, someone like Jamie Stanton<\/a>, she was one of my teachers at school and now she\u2019s one of my teammates, that\u2019s something very special for me, because I look up to her a lot. She\u2019s been of the players and been in the comp since the beginning. To see the things she does, learning off from her, it\u2019s good to have those types of role models in your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have three sisters actually, all of them play footy. You don\u2019t have to ask them \u2018do you want to come kick the footy?\u2019 We just go all the time and it\u2019s like you have three extra kicking buddies that live in the same house as you. When we get to play together, when we have the opportunity to reenact playing the same game. It\u2019s really special and it\u2019s so much fun as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve definitely watched a lot of documentaries because I didn\u2019t really grow up, watch anything. I\u2019ve been reading books and reading legacies. I like the All-Blacks book that I\u2019m ready right now and I\u2019ve been watching the Michael Jordan, The Last Dance documentary. The things that you can learn and learn from them. I love reaching things like that and watching documentaries on courageous players, it\u2019s so interesting to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Davies shared her wisdom to any upcoming footballers wanting to improve their game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I could tell myself, if you put in the work, you just have to trust the process and trust in yourself. What you\u2019re doing and believe that what you\u2019re working for, you can achieve it. If you stick with it, it will happen. Finding that balance is so important because if it\u2019s everything, or if it doesn\u2019t really have priority, you\u2019re not really getting along and putting as much energy into it. The more you put in, the more rewards you\u2019re going to get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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