As we continue our second season of the AFLW, we bring you our a profile series On the mark, presented by Bing Lee where we meet our AFLW team and find out what makes them tick.
Stay tuned to sydneyswans.com.au/aflw for all the latest interviews and AFLW news.
Most athletes would credit their parents for a portion for their success. But for star forward Rebecca Privitelli, it’s the reason she started playing football in the first place. Raised by a “football crazy” family in Victoria, the 28-year-old had her very own goal posts in the backyard from a young age.
Where other parents may have deemed female football unsafe a decade ago, Privitelli was allowed to thrive. It’s where she not only excelled athletically, but where she felt most accepted. Growing alongside the expansion of the sport hasn’t always been an easy journey, however, as she discusses in the next instalment of On the Mark, presented by Bing Lee.
At what point did you realise you could take your passion for AFL into a professional career?
“Growing up I played in heaps of state teams and back then, the programs that were set up in Victoria were working towards a professional path despite not having an AFLW league. I was really lucky. It wasn’t so much that there was an opportunity to play at the highest level at that point but we were being trained in an environment to think professionally for when the opportunity did come. I was lucky because I’ve been (with the AFLW) since year one. I still remember the day they announced the professional league and it was an exciting feeling.
"It didn’t change much because I still loved footy. That’s the biggest thing with women’s footy is that it’s always been about the passion. You never really did it for the money and it’s great that we’ll get to a stage where it’s full-time but the first eight seasons have been because we love playing.”
What age did you start playing footy?
“I grew up in a football crazy family in Victoria. I had a footy in my hand as young kid. We lived on two-and-a-half acres of land and Dad put some posts up and I’d be out there all day, everyday kicking the footy. When I was eight I started AusKick, once I finished playing AusKick I began playing with the boys until I couldn’t anymore.”
Who do you credit for your success?
“Definitely my parents. They’ve been the biggest supporters my whole life. I’ve been quite lucky. You hear stories of young girls whose parents growing up didn’t want them to play footy because it wasn’t safe for them, whereas my parents were the complete opposite."
What life lesson did you learn the hard way?
“That’s a good question. A few years ago, I got delisted after my first season in Sydney and my coach at the time said to me, if you keep doing the same thing, nothing is going to change. That was a lightbulb moment for me. I always had natural talent growing up playing but I never had the natural athletic ability or the work rate to take my game to the next level. It was a really tough year, I felt like I failed but it also completely changed the rest of my career. Up until this point I wouldn’t be here without that period of my life.”
Can you recall the most defining moment of your life so far?
“Probably moving to Sydney. As someone who grew up in a big Italian family, lived at home until I was 21, I moved out of home when the AFLW was established to Carlton where I was playing at the time. Then, to move interstate without any support here other than football, was one of the most challenging things I’ve done.”
If you weren’t playing AFL, what do you think you’d be doing?
“Hopefully just being a firefighter. I don’t know, I was never really good at any other sport. Maybe a cyclist – I love my riding so maybe I would have gone down that path. Who knows?!”
What are you most grateful for?
“The support in my life. Like I said, my family, Mum and Dad, my brother and sister, my partner – they’ve always encouraged me to follow my passion."
What is your most controversial opinion?
“Some people think it’s controversial that I love my dogs more than anything in the world?”
Whether you’re preparing for training or a match, do you have any superstitions or things you must do beforehand?
“I’m a bit weird. I always have to go out by myself and have a few shots at goal. As soon as I get (to a venue) I go straight out with a ball. I probably spend more time on the field then I do in the changerooms. I’m always out there kicking a ball. I’m just really particular on game day. I make sure I have to same routine as I did the week before if it worked, but if it didn’t work then I’m okay to change it up. I always have to kick a goal before I go back in.”
In your own opinion, what are your greatest strengths?
“On field probably my contested marking. I’ve never been quick, but I’ve always been able to read the ball quicker than other players. That lets me get to the position I need to before anyone else. And my comms and leadership too.”
Who is your sports hero?
“Matthew Richardson. I was a mad Richmond fan growing up."
"I watched different sports but AFL was what I was passionate about.”
We celebrate Pride Game in Round 9. What is most exciting about the fixture for you?
“Footy has always been a big part of my life and when I was growing up I felt like I couldn’t share the real me to the most important people in my life. The footy community was where I felt most accepted. Where I could be me and would never get judged for that or feel ashamed or embarrassed to be who I was.
“To where we’ve gotten to now is so incredible. To see young kids who were maybe in my position when I was that age, they have role models, they have an environment where they don’t have to feel like that. They feel accepted and feel comfortable talking about it. We’ve come such a long way and that’s the most exciting thing about it.”
See the team back in action at Henson Park and celebrate Pride Game in Round 9 for our final home game of the regular season. Purchase tickets below.
