It started with a conversation on a couch three years ago and now Corowa’s own Cathy and Ruby Svarc will make their mark together on the 2021 AFLW competition.
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The sisters are both locally well known for their stellar A Grade netball careers playing for Corowa-Rutherglen. They last played together in 2014 before Cathy moved to Geelong for her physiotherapy career and Ruby moved to Melbourne to study nutrition and dietetics.
In 2018 Cathy moved to Brisbane and finally decided to give football a “red-hot crack”.
“I moved to Brisbane and not really knowing anyone or having any other community connections. I decided to join a team to meet people and give footy a go,” the 28-year-old said.
“Ruby and I had discussed playing together in the past but work and study got in the way.
“I was lucky enough to find a club where they were pretty supportive and put my name out there. They saw I had a bit of potential.”
During a winter series, Cathy had the opportunity to play alongside other AFLW players in the off season giving her exposure at the top level.
“After the season I was the train on athlete to the Lions which is similar to a development player. The following year I was drafted. It all happened pretty quickly,” Cathy said.
“The opportunities kept coming so I kept running with them. I’ve always loved to challenge myself at the highest level for sport.”
In February this year Cathy made her debut in the Lions’ round 1 game against Adelaide at Hickey Park. Unfortunately, her season was cut short with the coronavirus pandemic halting sports across the country.
“I was having a really great season and the girls were playing really well.
“We were in the top end of the ladder. We would have made finals, so it was a bit of a shame when it all ended. It was an awesome season regardless of everything that happened,” Cathy said.
While Ruby’s entry into the game was a little different to her sister Cathy, her career in football also progressed quickly.
“My friends and I found a local club near where we were living in Melbourne. They seemed like a great club, so we went to a training session. We had so much fun and everyone was really friendly and welcoming even though we were so new to football,” Ruby said.
“It is one of the great things about women’s football, there are so many new players and everyone is still really supportive.”
Following a good season with the club, Ruby began to receive recognition which led to her being selected for representative games.
“I was contacted by a few VFL clubs and I ended up landing at Essendon VFLW for the 2019 season. It was really exciting. I had only started footy that year and by the end of the year I was signed to a VFL club,” she said.
“We had an awesome team and culture and while we only ended up winning about six games, for me it was all about learning more about footy and the structures.”
Unfortunately, with the 2020 season shut down, Ruby was unable to continue her journey with Essendon.
“It was a bit of a weird year. I kept doing my individual running training throughout the winter. I was just doing as much as I could to keep fit in preparation for whenever we could return to footy,” Ruby said.
Last month the 27-year-old was then picked by Brisbane in the AFLW draft, joining her sister Cathy for the 2021 season.
“I was completely shocked. Really overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe that they had actually picked me,” Ruby said.
“When it was announced my phone just exploded with messages on every form of social media. It was really exciting. My house mate was home so there were lots of happy tears.
“Melbourne was still in lockdown at the time too so there was no draft presentation. It was just me and my house mate on the couch watching the television screen. A bit of a weird way to do it but I’m definitely not complaining.”
Cathy said she was looking forward to playing alongside her sister.
“I am super excited to be playing together. We always thought it would be an awesome experience. We both enjoyed playing sports together growing up. We are both really competitive and we have always had a bit of sibling rivalry but in a positive way,” Cathy said.
“Ruby is fierce and fast. She doesn’t give up. She chases people down. I remember that from netball, her never say die attitude.”
Two weeks ago, the sisters were reunited and began their rigorous training with the Lions.
“We have just started training. It’s really nice to be able to kick the footy around again with team mates not just myself in the park,” Ruby said.
With two daughters now playing at the highest level together, Cathy and Ruby admitted that their parents were extremely proud of their efforts.
“They are very supportive and proud of us. They are wondering how on earth they managed to get two daughters playing in the AFLW,” Cathy said.
“We don’t know what the season is going to look like in terms of spectators and that sort of thing, but they will be watching from wherever they can.
“At least they only have to come to one game since we are playing together. It’s a convenient set up for them. One merch kit and one plane ticket,” Ruby added.