Three years ago Lauren Arnell was cleaning dog poos off the oval before she ran on to play. She would also run waters for the reserves team in the game before and occasionally boundary umpire.
“That’s literally been my whole career,” Arnell told Michael Whiting on The Roar Deal podcast.
“It’s been a massive adjustment obviously.”
The 31-year-old could never have imagined this weekend she would play her 12th AFLW game, but her first for the Brisbane Lions.
Arnell has been a trailblazer in making professional footy a reality for women.
“I’ve been a footy nerd since I was very, very little,” she said.
She won nine premierships with the Darebin Falcons, some with Lions midfielder Nat Exon.
In her
“It’s reinforced to me that footy is the greatest game in the world,” she said.
“I think the open space of footy and the physical contact and the
“Having that many people around you, it’s just so nice.”
Arnell played in the first Under 19 Victorian team with Daisy Pearce and
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In 2017 she became Carlton’s inaugural captain and played in the first AFLW game against Collingwood.
“The atmosphere on that night is something I’ll never forget,” she said.
“There weren’t just people in every seat, there were people in aisles.”
Arnell enjoyed her two years at Carlton, describing her last in 2018 as a ‘learning experience.’ She knew at the end of the season she would not be returning to the Blues and did question if her career would continue.
Her luck turned during the trade period.
“I was pretty lucky to have a call from Bree Brock and Craig Starcevich and it went pretty quickly from there,” she said.
“I think in one business day the trade agreement was signed to come to Brisbane.
Just a few days later she jumped on a plane up to Brisbane to meet her new teammates.
“Sam Virgo and her partner picked me up from the airport and it’s been a wonderful ride from the start,” she said.
