The opportunity of a lifetime beckons for Vikki Wall, but the immediate future is all matters Meath.
The reigning Footballer of the Year will join North Melbourne when the All-Ireland title holders exit this year's championship, joining the growing ranks of Irish players in the AFLW.
The powerful forward, who picked off a point in the comfortable win over Monaghan last weekend in the opening game of their All-Ireland series, is looking forward to the new challenge on the horizon, but insists it has made her appreciate the current campaign even more.
It's exciting to be challenging myself in a different way. To be a complete newbie in a sport. It’s a challenge to see how I will adapt to a new sport and hopefully do well in it.
"At the moment my focus is on Meath," she said at the launch of AIG’s new For Times Like These campaign. "There are touch points with AFLW, but at the moment I am more focused on the round ball.
"I was here for the league and I didn’t want to be leaving half way through and not seeing out the season. It has probably made me appreciate the season much more.
"I don’t know how many more we’ll lose. I don’t know why you’d want to play that sport because it’s dreadful stuff to watch. I can’t understand it. There’s no skill at all."
Wall insists that Murray, like her team-mates has been supportive of the decision to leave for Australia and says there was no conversation had to discuss his outspoken views.
"No, not at all. Maybe Eamonn’s comments were a bit stretched, but I have a great relationship with him and he always wants what is best for us as players.
"He has been really supportive of my decision and we have had a good few conversations about it and he is excited to see how I get on over there with it."
Many people expect Meath and Dublin to fight it out for the Brendan Martin Cup in a rivalry that continues to grow. After upsetting the Dubs in last year’s All-Ireland final, Mick Bohan’s side squeezed past in Navan in a titanic league encounter by the bare minimum. They backed that up with a two-point win in the Leinster final, sandwiched in between was a one-point win for the visitors in Parnell Park.
The Dunboyne star has welcomed the competitive edge both sides bring out in each other.
"It is exciting to have a rivalry like that for us as footballers, to be constantly challenging ourselves. Every game we play, they are taking something from us, we are taking something from them."
After easing past Monaghan, the clash with Armagh this weekend is likely to be a much sterner test. Both teams will be expected to seal places in the last eight, with Wall of the opinion that the rising expectations surrounding the team after back-to-back All-Ireland titles (intermediate and senior) isn’t an issue among the players.
"Last season we were underdogs and no-one really had any expectations other than ourselves. It has flipped completely this year.
"From a motivation point of view, it has been an easy shift for us. There has never been a lack of motivation, it’s probably the opposite, trying to prove to ourselves again that we are consistent and able to achieve these things.
"Maybe externally there is an expectation, but within the team, no. If you start thinking like that, you almost start playing like that."
