It’s a story you’ve heard multiple times about various AFLW players.
Not being allowed to play Aussie Rules when they were younger, crossing over to another sport, nearly being lost to that sport and then finally being able to play the game they love at a much older age.
That’s how life has panned out for Hawthorn defender Catherine Brown.
With no pathway available for her to play Aussie Rules in her hometown of Canberra, Brown crossed over to soccer.
That move culminated in her playing 32 games across six seasons for Canberra United in the A-League Women’s competition.
The 29-year-old has since added 10 games of AFLW to her impressive resume, highlighting her success in transitioning to Aussie Rules.
But thanks to her Mum’s high-level sporting background, Brown nearly bypassed both soccer and footy.
“My Mum played hockey at a very high level, she played hockey for Australia,” Brown told the Soaring to New Heights podcast.
“But as we’ve since established, there’s a very big north/ south divide in Canberra and the only synthetic hockey field in Canberra at that time was on the north side and crossing the border just wasn’t an option so therefore hockey was out.
“So yeah, I played soccer and made my way up to play for Canberra United.”
Unfortunately, Brown’s soccer career came to a grinding halt when she shattered and dislocated her patella.
That injury occurred while she was trialling for the GWS Giants ahead of the AFLW’s inaugural season, which, in her mind, meant she had a point to prove.
“Because I had effectively thrown my W-League career away trying to play AFL, I really had to try and prove to myself that I could do it,” Brown said.
It was only fitting that Brown rekindled her love for the sport with the club that meant so much to her family - the Eastlake Demons.
However, it wasn’t long before Hawthorn coach Bec Goddard came knocking, offering Brown a spot on the Hawks’ VFLW list.
After a difficult year of flying in between Canberra and Melbourne plus having to deal with the COVID pandemic, the stars finally started to align for Brown, who earned a spot on Hawthorn’s inaugural AFLW list in 2022.
Since then, the skillful defender has become known for her strong leadership, elite kicking and football smarts.
Brown said the ease of crossing over from soccer to Aussie Rules has seen her go from strength to strength.
"There’s a nice crossover between playing as a defender in football and coming from being a centre-back or wing-back at soccer," Brown said.
"The way you organise the ground and see the ground and some of those movements as well like backtracking are very transferable.
"The one thing I will say that’s very different is defending in front, that’s still taking some finessing.
“But footy is such a broad skill set and it’s for everybody.
“Being able to cross over between the two has been fantastic.
“Soccer has made it a lot easier in that regard to apply tactics in two different sporting languages.”
Away from the footy field, Brown is also a Mum, but her situation is not as straightforward as it might seem.
“My personal situation is a bit tricky,” she said.
“My daughter lives in Canberra with my ex-partner.
“She comes and visits every second month and every second month I go back there for a period of time.
“That’s hard to juggle but in the off-season, I’m working as well so that makes it even harder.”
Now with a full season under her belt, plus three VFLW games in the off-season, Brown continues to prove that she belongs in the sport.
The next step for Brown and the team is to head to Cairns for pre-season camp as preparations ramp up for the 2023 campaign, which is due to begin in the first week of September.
