Riotous bus rides, a breakthrough premiership and then the mandatory trip to the tattoo parlour.
When Jenna Fulton strolls into The Canal on the weekend she’ll be immediately transported back to 2017, the best year of her life.
The Bull Sharks Past Players function on Saturday will celebrate the five-year anniversary of the club’s 2017 QWFA Division 1 premiership.
And Fulton, who was vice-captain and manager of that side, and her teammates know all about celebrations. Â
It somehow happened that the bus driver for the away trips that season was the very same one who delivered Fulton to and from school throughout her teenage years.
“He would say Jenna, you guys can do whatever you want, so 2017 became known for these really wild bus rides home, especially after the Grannie because we had a cup to drink out of,’’ she said.
Then during the festivities that followed the grand final victory over Yeronga the girls decided to create a permanent memento of their achievement. Â
“There are definitely a few Sharkie emblems on bums getting around,” she said.
“That’s what we did on Mad Monday, went to a tattoo studio.
“I got UTS, Up The Sharkies, on the bottom of my toe, lots of the girls got tattoos on their bums or their ribs.
“They were the best years.’’
After completing her degree in sports management at Bond University, Fulton promptly landed her dream job at the Gold Coast Suns where she is now the digital and social media manager.
It signalled the end of her playing days but not her relationship with the Bull Sharks.
Last year she had to take a weekend off work to attend Past Players day as it clashed with a Suns game in Perth.
This year the Suns are fixtured to play Adelaide on Sunday at Metricon Stadium which leaves Fulton and flatmate Ally Evans, a jet-heeled winger for the 2017 Sharkies, free to hit The Canal.Â
The pair are looking forward to catching up with their fellow premiership players, some who are still playing, as well as any old boys who might attend.
“It will be cool,” she said.
“We’ll be watching Paris (Lightfoot) who is still playing, Grace (Bradley) who is still playing and then we’ll all catch up together.
“And the boys too, we were a really close club, we used to say three teams one club. ’’
Fulton’s Bull Sharks pedigree is second to none having also been part of the original women’s side in 2015.
It was the morning after her 21st birthday when she got the call from a friend involved in the club saying, “we need a ruck.’’
“Right, what’s a ruck?,” she replied.
“I think we had 12 girls, and we just built from there.’’
That game ended in a 133-point defeat, but Fulton was hooked.
“I used to just love it,” she said.
“I’d run water for the ressies, run water for the first half of the seniors and then play our game.
“I’d probably clock up over 20kms on game day.’’