Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney likes playing on the edge. It’s how she delivers her best footy, going toe to toe and sledge for sledge with her opponents, in their faces and never taking a backward step.
Her latest impassioned footy moments came in the preliminary final against Adelaide last weekend, when she got stuck into Crows stars Ebony Marinoff and Danielle Ponter.
North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney doesn’t take a backward step.Credit: Jason South
“When I don’t feel like I’ve got that anger in me, I don’t tend to be playing my best,” says Kearney, admitting to a case of white-line fever.
“So, if I can get onto that edge that’s when I feel like I’m at my best.
“There’s obviously a line that I don’t want to cross and at times you can get close to that, but I think for me, it’s just about knowing my arousal levels and how I can either calm myself down or bring myself up if I need to.”
The 34-year-old stalwart is a premiership player, league best and fairest and eight-time All-Australian. She’s also known for being one of the loudest on the field.
One of her favourite sledges was asking a prominent player if she’d been to the Olympics because she was so good at diving. And in her first year with the Western Bulldogs, she told a young cross-code basketballer “I can move, but you can’t” at a centre ball-up.
The toughness of the game, including its physicality and endless running, means there are times when the agitation and emotions are high, Kearney noting that it’s frequently seen in the men’s game, too.
“And sometimes you want to let those emotions out, and I think that’s all part of it,” she said.
It’s not just rivals who can experience a verbal from Kearney. From half-back, the skipper will often be pointing her hands and yelling at her teammates to set them up across the park.
North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney and Adelaide’s Danielle Ponter.Credit: Getty
“I can be harsh on my players if they’re not doing some of the things that they have been instructed to do,” she admits.
But she is also the first to follow up with them, educate them and, when it’s needed, wrap her arms around them. It’s part of what makes her a good leader, according to teammate and ruck Kim Rennie.
“I’ve definitely copped a fair share of Kearney’s on-field love, and whatever you want to call it,” laughs Rennie.
“But I mean I feel that Kearns has got my back out there, and I equally would have hers as well, like the rest of the players. It’s everything you could ask for in a captain and a leader … [We’re] very grateful and lucky to have that.”
North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney with men’s coach Alastair ClarksonCredit: Jason South
Before joining the Kangaroos in 2019, Kearney was a teacher but her classroom is now the footy field, where she coaches in the men’s program under Alastair Clarkson and captains the women’s side.
She was 28 when she took over as skipper, a role she didn’t necessarily see for herself when younger.
“I’m quite a quiet type of person, which probably shocks a lot of people because they sort of make judgments from what they see on field,” says Kearney.
“I probably never saw myself as a leader growing up because I was so shy and quiet.”
Emma Kearney addresses her playing group.Credit: Getty
Now, she has embraced the role and enjoys the relationship-building side of leading, and helping younger players become better footballers.
Then there’s the fact that she’s helming the club she loves to their maiden grand final and a potential premiership.
Last Monday night, when Kearney made her eighth consecutive All-Australian team at the W awards, she continued her streak of being the only player to receive the honour in every season in the AFLW’s history.
Rennie, who was part of the Western Bulldogs’ 2018 premiership side with Kearney, feels fortunate to have watched her leadership grow since she was a pup.
“When you kind of step back and look at it, it’s pretty incredible that you [North’s players] get to train and play with Kearns every week,” said Rennie.
While Kearney, also a former Melbourne Stars cricketer, acknowledged her unmatched run as a significant achievement, she says she’ll reflect properly on it at the end of her career. And hopefully by then, there will be a second premiership medal, too.
While North will experience their first AFLW grand final on Sunday at Ikon Park, their opponents, Brisbane, are playing in their fifth premiership decider. The Lions are the only team the Roos have yet to beat this year.
“The knock on North Melbourne has always been the fact that we can’t beat the top three, the big three, as they call them. And we’ve knocked over the big two. We’ve got one more to go,” says Kearney.
“We know that when we can play our best, dirty footy, we can beat anyone.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
Most Viewed in Sport
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article