Tara Murray
Lulu Beatty is pulling out the stops as she looks to turn her AFLW dream into a reality.
After a strong second half of the NAB League Girls season with the Northern Knights, Beatty has continued to make inroads.
She was part of the Vic Metro squad for the national championships and was among those to test at the AFLW draft combine last week.
Beatty was thrilled with the result of the two-kilometre time trial, the only event the girls were tested in.
“I beat my personal best which I was aiming for,” she said. “I was really excited for it.
“I did a lot of training. I’ve been training with footy and in the last three weeks I’ve got in touch with a personal trainer and started to do a weekly program and do two kilometres to get ready.
“It was definitely exciting to just be able to come out and beat my best time as that’s what I’ve been working on.”
Beatty, who was named co-vice captain of the Knights this year, didn’t play until round five due to a stress reaction in her foot.
When she came back, she made an instant impact.
“Coming back from injury, it was sort of growth process and working on getting back from there,” she said.
“It was really good and I only played half the season, but I was able to get back and get all the places I wanted to go.
“So I would say that it was successful and I grew this season as a player and as a leader, all positives.”
Those places Beatty wanted to tick off included being part of the Vic Metro squad and being invited to the combine.
She said the national championships was an incredible experience.
“It was really enjoyable,” she said. “I met lots of new girls and was able to grow with some really great coaches and I was able to go Queensland.”
Beatty is now playing in the Victorian Football League Women’s competition with the Darebin Falcons. The Falcons season was due to finish on the weekend.
She said it was a really exciting opportunity to play against bigger bodied players and play under a female head coach for the first time.
Beatty, who has been speaking to AFLW clubs, said the reality the draft was getting closer was starting to sink in. She said talking to clubs made validated all the hard work she had done and made her really proud.
“Pretty much since I went to the first AFLW game, I saw myself being able to play out there and that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.
“It’s quite a nervous wait to see what happens and I’m not in a position that I can guarantee anything.
“It’s just like ups and downs and all quite exciting and new. “I’ve never had anything like this happen before in my life.”
