NAB AFLW Star Emma O’Driscoll Shares the Highs and Lows of Working in Sport

By her own assertion, Emma O’Driscoll is an elite athlete because of her family. Born in Northam, a farming town in the central wheatbelt region of Western Australia, the Fremantle Dockers AFLW player could have easily been bound for a traditional life in agriculture. 

“I grew up in a farming family in Northam, [a place] where women had traditional roles compared to men. I suppose, in a farming family, the men would work, whereas women wouldn’t. I think I always grew up knowing that’s actually not what I wanted to do,” O’Driscoll reflected.

“I am very fortunate that my parents moved off the farm, but also that my mum married into the family being a really strong independent woman who played high-level sport. [She] instilled these values and, I guess, just a dream of you can actually do whatever you want to do. So, I think I’m very lucky to have mum and my Nana on my mum’s side, their values sunk in from a very young age for me.”

Growing up in a sports-oriented family, with two footy-loving brothers, it’s of no surprise that O’Driscoll was keen to follow suit, with dreams of a professional sports career and university.

“I grew up wanting to play professional netball and explore a physiotherapy pathway — to go to uni and forge that path for myself I suppose,” she said.

“Whereas my younger brothers were always told that they could play elite footy, and they could get paid to play sport. So for them, from a very young age, they were told ‘that’s what you can do — go and do it’.”

Whilst her brothers, Nathan and Aiden, had a clear pathway in sport, O’Driscoll acknowledges that it meant she had to take ‘hold of her life’ and actively pursue her sporting goals. She credits the support of her family in that journey — her brothers in the crowd at her netball games and O’Driscoll cheering the boys on from the footy boundary. 

‘I’ve always been so proud of my brothers. They would always come to all my netball games, and I would go to watch them play footy. We always supported one another,” O’Driscoll reflected.

Time spent on the boundary of her brother’s footy games meant that despite not playing, O’Driscoll knew a lot about the game. The three siblings shared plenty of banter off-field — Nathan, a devout Fremantle Dockers fan, and the rest of the family staunch West Coast Eagles supporters. In their backyard, they would eagerly play ‘King of the Pack’ and try to out mark each other in competition for the footy.

“We’d get footy cards every year, and always banter over who had the best cards — I was always surrounded by footy. We’d support each other in what we wanted to do, so when it got the point where I made the switch to play football, my brothers were the most supportive of me.”

It was during her final year of school when O’Driscoll decided to make that switch, initially parking her netball career to take up footy, for fun. She played in a week-long country carnival, representing Northam Senior High School and despite a rocky start, was hooked.

“Day one, I was wearing some hand-me-down boots from one of my best mates Zac, they didn’t even have any inner soles in them! I They didn’t fit my feet and I’m wearing them for this this country carnival — I rolled my ankle in the second game, and I just thought ‘this sport is not for me’. But nonetheless I got it taped up and I played out the week,’ O’Driscoll laughed.

‘Somehow, I actually won the best player for the carnival, which was a huge shock, because I literally couldn’t kick! if I’m being completely honest, it was probably something for being the most mongrel out there.’

Off the back of her ‘mongrel’ performance, O’Driscoll was invited to trial for the State 18s team in 2017, just as the national league was coming into fruition. She counts her timing as ‘perfect’, successfully making the transition from netball to football and into the State Squad. 

“I went down to a State training session, it was a trial, like a come-and-try day that I was invited to. I remember running around, playing and I copped a hit to the face — and if anyone knows me, whenever I play football, I bleed somewhere,” she recalled, laughing. 

“I ended up getting this massive bloody nose, and I remember going up to Trent Cooper, who was the coach at the time, at the end of the day. I was like ‘thanks so much for having me Trent’, and blood is pissing out of my nose and my mouth, and I’m spraying his white shirt.”

The talented footballer made a lasting impression, receiving a call the following week from Cooper to let her know that she had made the team — and that his white shirt would never be the same.

Despite being the last in her immediate family to come to football, O’Driscoll was the first of her siblings to be drafted to the national competition, earning a spot on the Fremantle AFLW list as pick 27 in 2019. Nathan followed the year after, landing at the same club as his sister, whilst Aiden was drafted to the Western Bulldogs in 2023.

At 19 years old, after playing for Swan Districts in the WAFLW, and completing two seasons with the State 18s, the young footballer suddenly found herself taking on the challenges of an elite sporting program.

“It was tough, I didn’t know what I was doing,” O’Driscoll laughed.

“I’m just thankful that I had such a supportive environment around me — honestly, the girls, the club, the coaches, the staff — so welcoming. Especially because we had a lot of athletes that were coming from other sports as well … the environment had to be inclusive, and it had to be educational — it had to be as [we] were learning every single game. I was very, very thankful for the girls embracing me.”

O’Driscoll credits the positive culture at Fremantle to her confidence and belonging in that first year, with the footballer making her backline debut in Week 4 of the 2020 NAB AFLW Season against St Kilda. 

Since that first season, O’Driscoll has gone from strength to strength. The talented defensive player has received three consecutive ‘22 under 22’ accolades, and just last year, to cap off a huge season, earned runner-up honours in her club best & fairest and was awarded a place in an the AFLW All-Australian side. O’Driscoll is quick to point to her family as the reason behind this success; they keep her grounded and remind her of the reason that she and her siblings play the game they love.

“They are the most important people in my life; I certainly wouldn’t be where I am without my family and without mum driving us to Perth three times a week when we were trying to come down for netball and football trainings. I think that in itself shows the dedication and commitment that we knew we needed to have to play at the highest level,” reflected O’Driscoll.

“I’m forever going to be thankful for that, my family mean everything, they’re my number one supporters.”

This support is echoed back when O’Driscoll speaks of her brothers. When Nathan joined Fremantle the year after she had been drafted, she was over the moon with excitement.

“We were so excited for one another; his draft day was probably the best day of my life, it was actually more important than my own draft day! Knowing that I’d see my brother, [who] from six years old wanted to grow up to be an AFL footballer, and it was about to happen for him. And to Freo as well, it was a moment that I can’t even describe — like goosebumps all over my body, raw emotion from everyone, just the fact that we could live this dream out together.”

Youngest brother Aiden followed their path into elite footy in 2023, named for the Western Bulldogs at pick 55 in the national draft. Devastatingly, his time in the AFL environment ended before it even began — forced to medically retire earlier this year, after suffering a severe head injury in a pre-season practice match. The close-knit family have navigated the tough blow together, with the experience giving O’Driscoll pause for thought; she is even more grateful to be playing the game and playing it for Aiden.

“It’s been really tough, especially when we were over here, and he was in Melbourne by himself, not know knowing what the verdict was,” she said of the incident.

“And for Nathan and I, we’re so grateful every single time we get to lace up boots, knowing that our brother can’t do that anymore, and knowing that it’s unsafe for him to do that. I think it just brings it back to that sport isn’t the be-all and end-all. There are a lot of other great things about Aiden and there are lot of things that he will be able to do and find purpose in now. It really grounds you on a whole other level and brings it back to that central reason why you play.”

That motivation and grounding has put O’Driscoll in good stead for 2024, with her side already registering a dominant win over Essendon in Week 1 of the NAB AFLW Season. The team have experienced plenty of change in the past few seasons, but the defender takes it all in her stride. In 2024, she has become a recognised leader of the playing group, alongside new captain Ange Stannett, Hayley Miller, Aine Tighe, Laura Pugh and Ash Brazill.

“I’m very grateful to be a leader, knowing that there are so many great leaders around me. It’s an area that I wanted to continue to develop, and I have full confidence in the leadership group to help me develop … [we are] going to do some great things this year. I’m pumped, I’m so excited!” O’Driscoll said.

“That’s the reason I play footy, to have fun with my girls. I think that’s why you end up developing, but also why I played the way I did last year — I literally leave my back out there for the girls every week. I’m going to continue to do that, regardless of the individual accolades, that’s not what we’re there for. We’re there to play with [our] best mates, have fun and hopefully win a flag soon!”