Erika O'Shea on life Down Under, her Aussie Rules aims and why she still dreams of an All-Ireland with Cork

GOING into training at North Melbourne, I am going in and meeting the girls who are my best friends.

I feel like just that family setup, I never thought I would move across the world and to play with a team and for them to become like family. I think that was the one thing that I found amazing about the club. It is one thing that I look forward to every day, seeing the girls and seeing the coaches, seeing my teammates and my best friends.

With AFL, I feel like I learn something new with every training session. I always learn a new rule or a new way to kick the ball. I always look to improve myself and that is the place to learn, especially alongside the likes of Emma Kearney, the North Melbourne captain, and all of the other girls who are so talented.

I feel like we trained really hard in pre-season in 2023 and we just tried our best to focus. Darren Crocker, our coach, was very good at keeping us grounded and just making sure that we were focused on the next game. Just focusing on the now, that was a huge thing for Crock and he kept us grounded.

For North Melbourne, it was our first ever time getting to an AFLW Grand Final, while last year was our first year getting to a Prelim. Getting to a prelim last year, a Grand Final this year, so we are set out to win it next year and that is the plan.

We are going step by step and it is all part of the process. This year was the first time in the Grand Final for the North Melbourne Women’s team. So it is very exciting and it is an exciting time for the club. 

Just to do that extra step next year is going to be huge for us. Hopefully, all of the hard work will pay off with the ultimate reward.

For a typical training week, on a Monday we come in and we do analysis of the game and do light stuff like a little flush jog. On Tuesday we come in and do our meetings in the morning. We do reviews based on our positions, so for me, I go into my review with the other defenders and the backs coach and discuss it. Then we go into a team review with everyone and we do a big review together.

IN DEPTH

It is just amazing the analysis that they go through. They have every stat of the game set out, every tackle and every movement that you do on the pitch is taken note of. It is just incredible to watch the video analysis back on a Tuesday and finding out things you can improve on and things you did well. It just constantly keeps you learning.

On a Wednesday, we have a pre-training meeting. Then we would have an upper body gym session, we would have lower body gym session and we have our full training session on the pitch as well. On a Tuesday evening, we would finish with a gym as well.

Then on a Friday, we would do another training session and we would do a gym session before and after the training session as well. So we would do upper body before the training, then a full training session running and then do lower body gym. Then on a Saturday or Sunday, we would have the game.

The Irish girls in AFL have the toughness from the GAA. They just have that want to play, that is something the Aussies wouldn’t see. Because the Irish girls don’t move across the world for no reason. Darren Crocker said that to me, you don’t move across the world for no reason, you go at it hell for leather and you just give it everything you have got. If it doesn't work out, you just come home and play the sport that you love.

In 2024 we want to take that next step at North Melbourne. We want to win a Grand Final and get the first flag for the club. That would be amazing for our supporters and for the girls as well after putting in all of the hard work. So that would be our goal in the long run, just to win a Grand Final and get that trophy that we deserve.

Another thing would be just to improve my game as well. I love to keep improving! During the off-season now while I am at home in Cork, my plan is just to keep training hard and make sure that I get back to Australia in full fitness and even better with my skills. That is my goal now for the next few months.

DREAM

My goal in the long run would be to definitely win an All-Ireland with Cork in football. That is one thing I would absolutely love. It is something I still dream of and it is something that I always wanted to do.

I really hope to be able to do that in the future. Cork was where I started my career and I don’t forget that and with my club in Macroom.

I would love to win a county with Macroom again in the future and win an All-Ireland with Cork!