If there's one time of the year a footy player needs their phone, it's trade period.

So Eilish Sheerin's phone breaking in Bali while a blockbuster trade taking the dual All-Australian from Richmond to North Melbourne was in negotiations.

"It was a scootering-in-the-wet-weather casualty, my phone had a big crack in it so the display went black right in the heat of the trade period," Sheerin told AFL.com.au. 

"It was a little bit stressful. I couldn't tell if it was a curse or a blessing.

"At times it was kinda nice because I wasn't riding every single bump of it which was good. I've got an incredible manager in Tim Hazell over at Vivid and he's so chilled. He was just like 'leave it with me, go and enjoy your holiday' and he got to work. I was pretty well shielded from it with the help of a broken display. So I just switched off and it happened quite quickly in the end, probably quicker than I anticipated it would.

"I would like to apologise to anyone I didn't message back at that time, I lost a week's worth of messages."

Sheerin's move from the Tigers to Kangaroos was the biggest shock of trade period, with the New South Wales native always expected to move to a Sydney club if at all.

As reported by AFL.com.au at the time, both the Swans and Giants had interest in Sheerin right through the 2024 season, but a trade involving either club didn't eventuate.

"There is always a pull to come back to Sydney, but it wasn't something that eventuated at the time. I probably had more opportunity to explore my football career and get the most out of the years I have left by staying in Melbourne," she said.

"I'm definitely a Sydneysider at heart, I love the beach and sunshine, and my family and friends are all there."

A mature-age recruit, Sheerin joined Richmond ahead of season seven, 2022 after previously being a train-on player at Greater Western Sydney. 

She burst onto the scene, winning her first All-Australian blazer in her debut season and collecting her second the next year.

Drafted as a defender, Sheerin shifted to the midfield in 2024 and cited North Melbourne's strong midfield group as one of the reasons she pursued a move.

"There wasn't one particular factor. North Melbourne has established itself over the years such a respected, successful and developed program. So when the opportunity to potentially move over to North presented itself, it was definitely something I was interested in exploring.

"I think North Melbourne has the premier midfield in the business. They're such hard workers and so humble the way they go about their business. Just being a part of the team, irrespective of whether that's in the midfield, is an incredible opportunity.

"Obviously it's a hard midfield to crack in to. I said to 'Crock' (Kangaroos senior coach Darren Crocker), as I say to any coach I have, that I don't really mind where you play me as long as you think it'll benefit the team and play to my strengths.

"I was drawn to the prospect of a new challenge and a refresh. I think when I came into the AFLW that unknown and challenge was something that really drove me to be the best athlete I could be at that time."

In one of the more bizarre stories of the year, Sheerin faced both the AFL Tribunal and the AFL Appeal Board after being charged with intentionally pushing an opponent into the path of an umpire.

She was referred directly to the Tribunal by the Match Review Officer, where her charge was downgraded to careless conduct during a two-and-a-half-hour hearing. The AFL then appealed, unsuccesfully seeking a significant penalty in a second hearing that was met with obvious derision from the Appeal Board and was all wrapped up within 45 minutes.
 
"It was interesting in terms of the legality of it. My background is actually working in business developent in migration law, so I've had exposure to the judicial system before, so it wasn't probably as confronting as I imagine it could be for some other players," Sheerin said.

"There's obviously a massive priority on protecting the umpire so it was a really interesting process to go through because it heightened the imporance of that to me.

"It's funny, there are certain things in my life I tend to fret over quite heavily, but in this case there's only so much you can do. Richmond was great, they got in an excellent barrister who prepared me to the best of their ability, and then you just need to go in and trust that the process is in place to do what it's meant to do. In this case, that was to assess the truth of the matter.

"Obviously I never went into it with the intent of hurting anyone on the field, that's not in the spirit of the game and that's not the way I play, so I'm very happy it played out the way it did."

One moment from the initial hearing continues to haunt Sheerin, however.

When asked to give her perspective of making contact with the umpire during the hearing, she told the Tribunal she was "obviously very strong". 

"I've been paid out a lot for that, I didn't realise it was being recorded!" she laughed.