Dee Heslop has only been a Lion for a few short months, but the 21-year old admits that the Club already feels like ‘home’ to her.
Reuniting with former Gold Coast teammate Taylor Smith, as well as history-making Under 18 Queensland teammates Nat Grider, Belle Dawes, Zimmie Farquharson, Jade Ellenger and Jesse Wardlaw at the den, Heslop couldn’t feel more at home.
“It feels a bit like home,” Heslop said.
“After playing Under 18s with a lot of [the team], coming back to reunite with so many of them at Brisbane has been pretty cool.”
And although this Saturday’s match will be just her second as a Lion, the former Gold Coast defender will reach her first significant AFLW milestone and play her 25th game on Saturday.
“Even though it’s only my second game for the Club, it’s still pretty exciting,”
“Being a part of this group is so special and I wouldn’t want to be running out for 25 games with any other team.”
A former Gold Coast Sun before she was delisted at the end of the 2022 season, Heslop arrived at the den through the 2022 NAB AFLW Draft, taken at Pick No. 57.
A pre-season of hard work and the right opportunity saw Heslop called up to make her Brisbane Lions debut in Round 2 last Sunday.
Slotting comfortably into the Lions' defensive unit as they claimed a 47-point victory against the Giants, Heslop said the debut was a special moment for her.
“It was super rewarding when Craig [Starcevich, Head Coach] told me that I would be playing last week,” Heslop said.
“I knew that coming into this team, it was going to be hard to [get a game],” Heslop said.
“They’ve won a Premiership and they kept most of their players through the expansion, so I knew there would be a lot of hard work to be selected.
“It’s just a been a journey to get here and I was so grateful for it to finally happen.”
“When I put on the colours and y’know I’m standing next to some of my best mates, that’s just such an exciting moment to me.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of it and I know that we can go a long way this year and you can really feel that everyone believes it too.”
Dee Heslop will play her 25th AFLW game on Saturday against the Gold Coast Suns.
