Kate Adams still has a fair few pinch marks to recover from.
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Rest assured they were self inflicted, largely down to occasion-induced awe after winning the VFLW grand final with Port Melbourne on Sunday.
Adams, a former Shepparton United and Murray Bushrangers footballer, was a force in the midfield for the Borough as they ran out 5.5 (35) to 3.5 (23) victors in the big dance over Collingwood.
It was her first flag, so the pinches started well before the bounce.
“It wasn’t really nerve-racking, it was just awesome to be a part of such a special occasion,” Adams said.
“It was a bit of a pinch me moment walking out onto the ground even and seeing supporters coming through the gates two hours before the game still, just the whole set-up ― it was pretty surreal.
“I just had to keep pinching myself that I was able to take the field and be there.”
The 21-year-old had every right to be nervous.
Not only was it her first grand final, but she’d also just returned from an ankle injury sustained before the first week of finals.
Adams had also been sidelined for large periods of the season, breaking her hand in round two and her left wrist four rounds later.
She figured the best way to get over it was to play and play hard.
“I hit the ground running, I wasn’t really on the back foot,” Adams said.
“It was just good to be out there and I was very appreciative and grateful to be playing in the VFLW grand final.
“Collingwood are a really good contested side, they’ve got a lot of good inside players, so we really had to focus on our contested ball game and beat them there at the source by winning the clearances and things like that.
“Just making sure every disposal they had, we just put pressure on it ― and I think we did that. We were also able to beat them aerially sometimes and outrun them.”
Port Melbourne led at every break, smashing the Magpies across most areas of the ground to stamp a convincing albeit cagey victory.
When the final siren sounded, one loyal supporter of Adams was sure to single her out for a hug and a chat.
It was Dean Walton, her old coach at Shepparton United, and their story goes way back.
He’d seen her progress as a girl playing boys footy at under-14 level with the Demons, anointing her co-captain when the club launched its inaugural Youth Girls’ team six years ago.
“She came in with football experience and passed on her knowledge and experience to all the new players,” Walton said.
“When we started in 2017 most of our players were brand new to the game, so she brought not only that leadership of being captain, but also some experience that she could pass on to the others.
“She was always like a great friend to every player, a really good mentor. She treated everyone fairly and helped those new to the game.”
Walton clearly made the right call in selecting Adams for a leadership role all those years ago.
She was co-captain of United during the three full seasons she spent there, wore a similar hat for two seasons at Murray Bushrangers and is now blazing the trail for other young footy-mad females in the Goulburn Valley.
“It’s really good for local footy and really good for girls’ footy,” Walton said.
“It think it’s a lot of girls’ dream to play AFLW, and though Kate’s not there yet, she could get there ― you just don’t know.
“She continues to follow her dream, she’s at the second best women’s football standard in the country and has a premiership medallion.”
At the end of last year, if someone offered Adams a grand final date in 2023 let alone a premiership she would’ve snapped their arm off.
Why? The Borough had slumped to third bottom in the VFLW.
They won just three games.
Yet the hunger and the belief did not die.
“Something just changed in the culture at the club, it was a really tight knit bunch of girls and we had this belief at the start that we could do it,” Adams said.
“So when the final siren went it was just elation; I looked around, made eye contact with a lot of the players, put my hands on my head and couldn’t believe it.
“The vibe was just amazing, everyone was just happy for each, our supporters and our family.
“The celebrations were quite big, it’s all part of it. It was such a good time, it was a really good last 48 hours.”
There was no shortage of skin-squeezing moments during the celebratory period for Adams, but one in particular stood above the rest.
“I had people sending photos of me on TV,” she said.
“That was another pinch me moment; being on Channel Seven and having it televised was massive.
“The support was unreal and you don’t realise it until a moment like that. Everyone’s messaging you, people you haven’t spoke to a whole heap lately and they’re sending me words of support, it was just really special.”
So with the curtains drawn on her most memorable season yet, what’s next for Adams?
For her it’s clear as day.
A fourth year in red and blue, creating more ‘’pinch-me’’ moments alongside company she has become so fond of recently.
“One hundred per cent I’ll be back (next year), I don’t think I’d be able to bring myself away from the club,” she said.
“I’ve made some of my best friends there, the coaching staff are unreal and the culture is unmatched.
“It’s a very special club with rich history that I’m very grateful to be a part of.”
Senior Sports Journalist