VFLW Hawk Jayde van Dyk says she didn’t know how far she could take her football.

The Chirnside Park product was happily playing for her local club “for fun”, before a teammate made a suggestion.

“One of my friends told me to come down and try out for Box Hill,” van Dyk said.

“And now I couldn’t leave.” 

The runner-up in the club best and fairest in 2017, Van Dyk was one of just four players to have played all 14 games for Box Hill last year in the club’s inaugural season in the VFLW competition.

But the 22-year old has had to overcome her challenges in preparation for this season, having had a restricted pre-season due to an Achilles complaint. 

“I was really looking forward to having a good pre-season. 

“But in the end, I couldn’t really do any pre-season as I was on the sidelines the whole time. 

“So, it’s been challenging but once I sorted that out it has been really good to get back into it.” 

With the Hawks currently in fourth place with three wins and one loss, Van Dyk has shown some strong form in her side’s opening four games of the year. 

She points to the added experience and progression of the club’s leadership group as to why the Hawks have enjoyed such a strong start to the season.

“We have a lot more experience in the football background.

“I guess we all, as a team, feel like we can learn from those players and take on what they say going forward.”