BENDIGO’S Eliza Hynes is confident the doggedness that she has displayed throughout her international volleyball career will hold her in good stead as she makes a sporting transition to football.
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While she will never say never as far as making a return to the sport, Hynes last weekend bid farewell to volleyball when she was part of the Australian team that was beaten by Hungary in the Group 3 final of the World Grand Prix in Canberra.
Now the 25-year-old’s sporting focus is purely on football and preparing for her first season in the AFLW with Collingwood in 2018.
The Magpies signed Hynes as a rookie-listed player in May and she makes it clear she’s not a dual code sportswoman – she’s now a footballer.
Hynes has never played a game of competitive football before, and while making the switch from the confines of a volleyball court to the wide open space of the football field poses an obvious challenge, she is determined to succeed.
“There’s a lot of physicality in volleyball that has built me the way I am,” Hynes said on Thursday.
“There’s a lot of power in both jumping and going to ground and desperation for the ball, so I already have that bred in me. I’ve got that attitude of doggedness in me and I can see that translating across to football.”
While Hynes has made her sporting name on the volleyball court – both indoor and beach – she says she’s always had a desire to play football.
“I always used to think I could be the first woman to play in the AFL with men, but there wasn’t the avenue for it at the time,” Hynes said.
“Now that there is the avenue of being able to pursue professional football in our home state, that’s really exciting.
“My level of skill and playing on the football field goes about as far as kicking with my dad and brother, but I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’d like to say that Collingwood has picked the right person in me and going forward I’ll be a footballer, not a dual sport athlete, while I give all my energy to it for however long that will be.”
Hynes has spent the past decade representing Australia at both indoor and beach volleyball, and has also played overseas in Europe.
She walked off the court at Canberra last weekend knowing that it could be the last time she represents the Volleyroos – but unsure what the future holds.
“You never say never; I never see things as an end or a starting point,” Hynes said.
The Volleyroos were beaten 25-18, 25-17, 25-20 by short-priced favourite Hungary in the World Grand Prix Group 3 Final, with the silver medal a significant achievement for the team.
The Volleyroos’ victory over Trinidad Tobago earlier this month was Australia’s first FIBV (Federation International de Volleyball) win outside of the Sydney 2000 Olympics since 1982.
“It’s the best result Australian volleyball has had… we definitely put our best foot forward,” said Hynes, a former member of the Bendigo Academy of Sport’s volleyball program.
“Australian volleyball on the world scale is up and coming, but it hasn’t been on track without a full-time program in quite some years.”
Bendigo now has two Collingwood-listed AFLW players, with Emma Grant also part of the Magpies squad.
