Donegal star Amy Boyle-Carr believes the best is yet to come after an impressive debut season in AFLW for the Adelaide Crows.
The three-time Ulster champion, who won player of the match in the 2019 Ulster final, featured in six of the Crows’ 11 regular season matches and is in contention for a recall ahead of Saturday’s semi-final showdown against the Fremantle Dockers.
The Glenties woman arrived in South Australia in mid-July when she was memorably greeted at Adelaide Airport by her Crows teammates holding aloft handmade ‘ABC, ‘Carrnage’ and ‘Boyleing’ signs to welcome the Irish rookie to Australia.
The transition to an alien sport, 10,000 miles across the other side of the world has understandably not been easy, but Boyle-Carr is satisfied with her progress.
“Coming out late and missing pre-season it was never going to be straightforward, especially when you are a learning a new sport from scratch, but I was thrilled to make my AFLW debut in week four, and I have done well to have played six games this season” Boyle-Carr told The Irish News.
“In a team like the Crows, it’s a very competitive environment, so not everyone plays every week, and you just have to be ready when your opportunity comes along.
“My coaches are very happy with me and have told me to look at the bigger picture when I am not in the team.
“It’s difficult when you miss a lot of it before you arrive, so you just have to put your best foot forward and take your opportunities when you get them.”
Fermanagh ace Blaithin Bogue is still waiting to make her AFLW season debut for unbeaten premiership favourites, the North Melbourne Kangaroos.
Bogue also arrived in Australia a fortnight before the season started in mid-August and joined a club who have produced the most dominant season in the competition’s history.
Boyle-Carr and Bogue have empathy for each other’s circumstances and recently locked horns in a practice match.
“Blaithin is doing really well,” Boyle-Carr explained. “She is in a similar situation to me because we both came over late and didn’t have a pre-season and we joined two of the most competitive teams in the competition.
“Australian rules is a difficult sport to learn. “The toughest aspect is learning the various structures on field which we don’t have in Gaelic football.”
Boyle-Carr is expecting a fiercely contested do-or-die semi-final against the Fremantle Dockers at Norwood Oval on Saturday when she could lock horns with Meath forward Orlagh Lally.
“We are up there capable of beating anyone, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Boyle-Carr said. “We are taking it game by game.
“I have played against Orlagh in the GAA but when you are playing in AFLW you don’t really think about your opponent’s being Irish or not, it’s all about knowing you are going to have to be at your best to win.”
The AFL has recently announced that they are “very close” to confirming a new fixture schedule for AFLW next year with the season expected to start much earlier than August 30, possibly in June or July.
This could have profound implications for the nearly three dozen Irish women in AFLW who are committed to playing in the GAA during the off-season ‘Down Under’.
Boyle-Carr’s one-year deal expires next month but she is hopeful of extending her time in the South Australian capital in 2025 and beyond.
Despite the uncertainty over how next year’s AFLW fixturing will go, Boyle-Carr is willing to engage in open dialogue to decide what’s best for her.
“It’s unknown at the minute when next year’s AFLW season will start and whether or not I will be offered a new contract.” Boyle-Carr said.
“There are 35 Irish women in AFLW, so we will have to talk about the GAA season next year, and make a decision based on what’s the best outcome. Everyone’s circumstances are different.”
Boyle-Carr, who represented Ireland at national level in soccer when she was selected to play in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier against the Netherlands in 2018, as a teenager, has no hesitancy in recommending AFLW to GAA players considering the switch.
“I would definitely encourage more Irish women to experience playing in AFLW and experience the professional side of it,” Boyle-Carr said.
“I have loved every minute at the Crows and can’t thank the club enough for making me feel so welcome and for supporting me. I would have regretted not coming out here.”
In other news former Donegal captain Niamh McLaughlin finished joined second on the Gold Coast Suns end of season Club Champion Awards.
McLaughlin and Daisy D’Arcy both polled 258 votes, second only to Charlie Rowbottom’s tally of 313 votes.
