Dual-sport athlete Jess Duffin has elected to continue her outstanding sporting journey at the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos, with the utility signing for her new club on Friday.
Duffin, who is a WBBL and AFLW star, left Collingwood in favour of North, and is enthusiastic about the opportunity.
“I’m pretty excited,” Duffin told North Media.
“I’ve been speaking with the club for a while now, so it has been a few weeks in the making.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting into the club, which has a long history of women’s football, and learning more about that.”
The 28-year-old utility, who has featured at both ends of the ground as well as the midfield, is excited by North’s new signings.
“The list North is trying to put together is making it a really exciting time for the club,” Duffin said.
“I wasn’t sure of who else was coming, but in terms of what the club was looking for in players, I thought that was something to be really excited about and it suits how I want to play.
“I’m a utility. The fact that I can go across all three sections of the ground, depending on what (coach) Scott Gowans wants to do and where he wants to play me, is really exciting in terms of opportunity for my football and bettering myself as a player.”
Not only is Duffin an AFLW star, but the Victorian native has represented Australia in cricket, and is a prominent part of the Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL.
Previously at Collingwood, Duffin had no issue balancing the rigours of both codes.
“Playing with the Melbourne Renegades, and the Melbourne Stars at the time, the club (Collingwood) was really good in making sure that I could play both, which was a really nice opportunity.
“I think playing both football and cricket helps, especially in terms of coordination.
“I guess the fitness side of things helps as well.
“If I wasn’t at a training session with Collingwood, I was training with the Renegades working on my fitness.
“Any session that I may have missed, I always made up, and it was really good in making sure I wasn’t overdoing it either.”
Her sporting prowess hasn’t been a recent development though, with the defender juggling both disciplines since a young age.
“I was really sporty as a kid, and growing up with an older brother and my Dad meant I was in the backyard a lot,” Duffin added.
“I was pretty much playing AFL and cricket from the age of four, my Dad would probably say earlier than that, but I don’t remember it.
“I pretty much did everything, did Auskick, and then played at the Werribee Football Club until U/12’s when I had to step away because at that time, the girls could only play up until then.
“I took the cricket pathway after that, and played cricket through my juniors and got the opportunity to play for the Victoria Spirit and then obviously for Australia.
“I got wind of the AFLW coming in and thought it was a really good opportunity to come back and try and play both, and that’s when I had to consider playing football and not playing cricket for Australia, so that was a really hard decision.
“It’s been a really good one for me.”
