Knee rehab looked a little different for Hawthorn forward Greta Bodey over the summer.
Amid all the typical work required to return from a posterior cruciate ligament injury (PCL), Bodey was able to tick off the personal goal of hiking Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island.
The 32-kilometre, four-day hike is something the Hawk has wanted to do since spending six months in Cairns several years ago.
"I heard about this hike off the coast of far north Queensland called Hinchinbrook Island when I lived up there," Bodey told AFL.com.au.
"It's always been really hard to book into because you're only allowed 40 people on the island. I always wanted to do it, and one day last year I was just sitting on my laptop at home thinking, 'Oh my gosh, there's seven spots available'.
"So, I booked them all in, then I had to think about who could come."
Bodey reached out to a couple of her teammates, and soon enough Emily Bates and Louise Stephenson were on board.
"It kind of crept up on us, and then it was about a month out and I was like, 'Oh God, we're going on a four-day hike with nothing on the island. I better make a packing list'," Bodey said.
"I sent (Bates and Stephenson) the packing list… and that's when it dawned on them that there was nothing else on the island except what we brought.
"It was an awesome experience for everyone and I'm very grateful that we all got through unscathed."
Getting through unscathed didn't mean there weren't hiccups along the way. For Stephenson, a footwear concern became immediately evident.
"Lou had a bit of a kerfuffle with her hiking boots," Bodey laughed.
"She wanted to go for the ultra-sturdy hiking boots. We all wore runners, but she wanted to protect the ankles a bit more, so she got a pair of boots off marketplace the night before we left.
"To her credit, the looked really sturdy, but as it is in far north Queensland, it's very wet, a lot of creek crossings on the first morning of the hike and pretty much, her soles fell off. She lost both soles and maybe her actual soul.
"That was a resilience challenge for Lou, and to her credit, she didn't complain once."
It was also a unique rehab challenge for Bodey and her knee as she prepared to attack a sixth AFLW pre-season.
"It was something to work towards. Carrying the pack, the weight, walking for four or five days, camping, being totally self-sufficient. It was really rewarding to not only tick it off from a rehab point of view, but a personal challenge as well," Bodey said.
"Plus, the added responsibility of being organiser and taking AFLW athletes. You want to make sure they return in good shape."
The hike was just one part of a different looking off-season for Bodey, who learned to love her bicycle and the SkiErg machine in the gym.
After hurting her knee in the second quarter of the Hawks' round nine win over Port Adelaide – in which Bodey kicked four goals – she went on to play the following week thinking the injury was a minor one.
"I did it in the second quarter and then went on to have the best game of my life," Bodey said with a laugh.
"I think it must have been adrenaline… I didn't really think it was a serious injury."
But a scan once the season was over meant adapting to a knee brace over the summer months.
"I was disappointed, and I had one sad afternoon, but I'm lucky that the people in my corner can give me a fair bit of perspective when it comes to injuries. So, I had one sad afternoon, but then I got over that and started looking at it as a challenge," Bodey said.
"The things that have come out of the challenge have been really rewarding, so I wouldn't change it. Although, it was a bit grim having the brace on at the beach in Queensland."
Those sacrifices over the summer meant Bodey is raring to go for the 2024 NAB AFLW season, now re-united with coach Daniel Webster.
"He brings a lot of passion and energy," Bodey said.
"We know how great of a coach he is, but not only that, he's just a great person, and he's a great club person to have around."
