New Crow leaves the nest

By Lachlan Ellis

A local footballer, who has played for teams on both sides of the Western Freeway, will don navy blue, red and yellow this year, after being picked up in last month’s AFLW Draft.

Tamara Henry, who has played for the Bacchus Marsh Cobras, Darley Devils, and Western Jets – and is a premiership player for the latter two – was taken at Pick 28 by the Adelaide Crows on Monday 18 December.

The selection is a dream come true for Ms Henry, who said hearing her name called left “so many emotions coming over me”.

“I was so excited, you know, finally achieving what I’ve always wanted to achieve, and obviously the realisation that I’m moving interstate, but overall pretty excited,” she told the Moorabool News.

“I’ll be heading over there in mid-February for about two months to play some SANFL footy, then I’ll come back for a month and a bit, then head back to South Australia for the start of the preseason.”

Ms Henry said that at the start of 2023 she had “no inkling” that AFLW clubs might be interested in her, but as the year progressed and a few clubs showed interest, she became more optimistic about her odds of getting drafted.

“On Draft Night, I was pretty excited to hopefully be picked up…I thought there was a pretty good shot that I was going to get picked up, but you still have that in the back of your mind that you may not be able to get that opportunity at AFLW level,” she said.

“Some of the team came to my house on Monday night, and asked if I wanted to go to Adelaide, and I was on a plane at 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning. It was a great experience, getting to meet the girls and staff, learn about the club and what it’s about, was awesome.

“The history excites me, having so much success in such a short period of time with the three premierships shows Adelaide know what they’re doing, know how to win games…it’s super exciting.”

And of course, the new Crow has some words for the local clubs she started out with, Bacchus Marsh and Darley.

“I’m always getting support from the local clubs which is great. I’d just like to thank both clubs for helping me grow, I’m so grateful for them starting female footy and giving me that opportunity.” she said.