Choosing between sports to play professionally is a head-scratcher most athletes would snap an arm off for.
Georgia Gall had that problem — not anymore.
The Euroa-raised cross-code talent has gone down the football route and hasn’t yet peered in the rear-vision mirror since picking the Sherrin over the Kookaburra years ago.
Gall, 19, was scooped up by Melbourne Football Club in the 2022 AFLW draft from the Melbourne Stars Women’s Big Bash League cricket team, and the fruits of her footy labour reached their ripest late last year as she debuted in the AFLW against Fremantle.
It removed any doubt she had made the right choice.
“Obviously, it was a hard decision to make because I do love cricket, but at the end of the day I had to choose one,” Gall said.
“I think as footy’s become more professional and cricket kind of runs at the same time as football, it’s a bit hard to do two sports.
“I’m the type of person that likes fully committing to one thing and getting the best out of myself, so I’ve chosen football to pursue.
“Ever since I started playing footy for the Dees, I’ve loved it from the start. I’ve loved the professional environment and the team culture.”
Gall’s time at Casey Fields has been studded with ‘‘pinch me’’ moments.
As a budding forward, she rolls into training and is met with genuine stars of the women’s game in Tayla Harris and Kate Hore who are more than happy to share their trade secrets.
Her forwards coach, ex-Demon Shae Sloane, is no different.
It’s a competitive cohort — cutthroat, even — but the camaraderie makes it Gall’s perfect haven to hone her craft.
“It’s such a competitive environment which is awesome and I think that’s what makes us so special as a team,” she said.
“Everyone’s so selfless and willing to play their own role. It’s an awesome environment to be a part of and all the girls are all so lovely — I love it.”
Gall’s start to her AFLW career was a curious one.
The 183cm forward featured in the Demons’ 8.13 (61) to 4.4 (28) win over Fremantle in round nine, picked again for the final home and away game against Brisbane, where Melbourne fell by 25 points.
Melbourne’s straight-sets finals exit took a coat of lacquer off a lustrous campaign for the Demons, but in Gall’s eyes, running out as an AFLW player was enough to get the heart racing.
“That was an awesome experience for me,” she said.
“To be able to get those two games at the back end of the season was awesome and I think it’ll really help me for this season, knowing what AFLW standard is like.
“It was just an amazing day to be back out there and I feel like I worked really hard for it, so to get that reward was really special.”
At the moment, Gall balances training four times a week with Melbourne in between university work.
She has enrolled in a Bachelor of Business Studies, which she is doing part-time to accommodate her true passion — football.
Recently, Gall returned to her junior club, Seymour, as part of Melbourne’s AFL Community Camp tour, and kicking the dew off the footy at Kings Park once more proved to be a special moment for the talented teen.
“It was great to be able to give back to the community and going back to the region where I grew up playing footy was pretty special,” she said.
“Interacting with all the kids was super fun; it was a great day to be a part of.
“I do try and get back home a fair bit. My parents live up in Euroa, so I try get back when I can when footy or uni isn’t on ... as much as I can in the off-season.”
The AFLW off-season is a long one, and often it can be unforgiving.
Gall won’t have the chance to make her third professional appearance until late August at the earliest, meaning plenty of paddock-pounding and biding her time is on the slate for the next six months.
However, she’s hoping to further pay her dues in the VFLW with Casey through winter, sharpen her skills and make an almighty introduction when the time is nigh to run out once more in the top flight.
“I’m hoping to play a few more games in VFLW, keep expanding my game and take every opportunity I can in this off-season period to put my hand up for selection when the season starts,” she said.
“I’m super excited for the season to start this year. It’s a new-looking team, so it’ll be exciting.
“As a team, we want to go one step better than last year. It was a bit of a disappointing end to the year and everyone’s a bit hungrier to come back better this season, so we’re hoping to do much better.
“Personally, (I want to) get a bit more of that game experience and keep evolving my game as a forward as well and see where that takes me.”