Cora Staunton admitted she found her Aussie Rules debut "tough but enjoyable" as she hit two goals for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in a practice match on Saturday morning.
The Mayo football legend became the first international sportswoman to be drafted to play in the Australian league and got her first taste of a match environment as the Giants eased to a 50-point win over the Brisbane Lions in temperatures reaching 32 degrees.
Staunton was one of the standout performers with two well taken goals and speaking afterwards, the four-time All-Ireland winner says it was more challenging than she had anticipated.
"It was very tough. It’s a lot different to what I expected. It’s more physical and I probably wouldn’t be as used to that at home," she said.
"There are plenty of things to work on, plenty of mistakes, but I enjoyed it."
Hear from @LadiesFootball legend @duckie15 who hit the ground running in her first game of @aflwomens.#NeverSurrender pic.twitter.com/DvCrLrzWwz
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) January 20, 2018
One of the goals was a skillful left-footed effort, with Staunton pleased to work the score off her weaker foot which was well received on the pitch by her team-mates.
"We wouldn’t really celebrate many goals. We obviously celebrate at the end of the match, but it was lovely," she said.
"It was nice to kick one off the left. I was getting a bit of a slagging off some of the Brisbane girls about my kick, so it was nice to put that one over...I don’t know if there will be too many for the rest of the year."
Dear @LadiesFootball,
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) January 20, 2018
Thank you so much for @duckie15, she’s a star. Can we keep her?
Regards,
Australian Football.
She’s kicked two for the game and her last - a snap over the shoulder - was class. #NeverSurrender
The Giants get their campaign up and running in less than two weeks and Staunton says there are a couple of aspects of her game that she is looking to improve.
The forward was penalised on a couple of occasions for holding onto the ball – "I was annoyed with myself a few times I got caught tackled when I probably should have shot or passed it off. I need to get a split second quicker with that" – and says that there is one area in particular where she is working tirelessly to better herself
"The biggest improvement I’m trying to make is my ball kicking. That’s still a huge struggle.
"I have to keep working on that, day in, day out. I’m not going to get it right in eight weeks, but I have to get my own technique and what fits for me."
