Hard work pays off.
An invested coach who is prepared to put in the extra hours helps too.
While Bond’s AFLW team gear up for finals, key Bull Shark midfielder Imogen Evans will be getting ready for the big leagues.
After playing the home and away season with the Bull Sharks, Evans has had her call up to the professional level for her second shot with Collingwood.
The contested ball specialist has packed her bags, said some hard goodbyes and made her way back to Melbourne to start training with the Pies.
Following her delisting at the end of last season, Evans was determined to work her way back into the squad.
The young midfielder was told that in order to make it back to the AFLW she had a list of skills to work on.
She returned to the Bull Sharks and enlisted the help of Andy Lovell and Matthew Kennedy to her reach her goal.
The pair set up one-on-one trainings for her outside of the weekly team sessions, tackling her list of skills one at a time.
The extra sessions caught the eye of Bond University Director of Sport Mike Collins.
“I would see Andy Lovell at all hours down at the oval working on individual skills with one player and initially I assumed it was someone trying their hardest to impress the coach and crack into the senior team.” Collins said.
“Eventually I asked him who it was, and he told me it was Imogen Evans.
“The kid left no stone unturned in her bid to get back into the AFLW and it has paid off and she deserved every success that comes her way.
“This is down to her hard work, but it also says a bit about the quality of the AFL program we have here at Bond and in particular the sort of person Andy is.
“Her departure leaves the Bull Sharks without one of our prime movers on the eve of the finals, but there was nothing but genuine elation from Andy and the rest of the team when we heard the news.”
Lovell deflected any credit back on to the player who he reckons is one of the most coachable athletes he has worked with because of her ability to process feedback and capacity to map out a plan that would get her back into topflight football.
“She came back with clear feedback on her strengths and things to improve on to be able to succeed at AFLW level,” Lovell said.
“She worked with me on all parts of the game with a heavy focus on her one-touch ball handling, acceleration with ball in hand and the different types of marking- launching, arching with the flight and one on one contested marking.
“We talked regularly about the type of player she wanted to be, and her decision making with and without the ball.
“Nothing was going to stand in her way of realising her dream to have a second crack at the big time.”
The sight of strength and conditioning coach Matthew “Max” Kennedy setting up a conditioning drill has been known to give the toughest footballers the shivers, but Evans also sought him out for extra work.
“She has got a real appetite to get better to the point where as a coach you need to pull her back to protect herself,” Kennedy said.
“The best way to describe her is – a manic trainer who just wants to get better.”
Each week her impact on the QAFLW increased. The state selectors noticed and picked her to represent Queensland against Tasmania. Collingwood, who had kept a list spot open for the best club footballer in the country, were also watching.
Evans will be missed by teammates and coaches alike as finals fast approach the group.
However, Lovell said she went with the full support of everyone at the club.
“She is really well respected and loved by the players and also really humble,” Lovell said.
“She has a really bubbly presence, a great sense of humour and is always really vocal on the training track and in games.
“She is a really strong leader because of these attributes, someone who always led by example and constantly trained really hard. Add in her team first mentality and her skill set and you’re left with the question of how do we replace that package deal?
“We are thrilled for her to get her second chance; she has worked so hard to get back to the big leagues.
“We are proud of all the effort she has put in and can’t wait to watch her on the big screen this AFLW season.”