Tara Slender kept her emotions in check in the hour or so after she was selected by North Melbourne in Tuesday night's AFLW Draft.
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Her family was ecstatic and her phone was inundated with congratulatory messages from friends and team-mates.
She even had a facetime call with an excited North Melbourne AFLW list and football performance manager Rhys Harwood.
However, when she answered her phone and one of her biggest supporters was on the other end, tears started to flow as she realised she'd achieved her dream of making it to AFLW.
"I had a conversation with my Pop and I Lost it,'' Slender said.
"I started crying and all the emotion came out of me.
"All the years of going to the oval, sweating my guts out and all the time with the girls trying to make each other better.
"That all led to last night and when I was talking to Pop it just hit me.
"He loves his footy and he's a big Collingwood supporter, so we might have to try to get him to switch to the Roos."
Slender had a standout season with the Bendigo Pioneers and played well for Vic Country at the national carnival and at VFLW level with Essendon.
The versatile key position player attracted interest from all of the Victorian-based AFLW clubs, but it was the Roos who pounced with selection 19.
"I had no idea that North was going to pick me,'' Slender said.
"I was very nervous and then the first round went through and I didn't get picked.
"Thankfully, the first pick of the second round, North Melbourne called my name.
"I'd had three interviews with North Melbourne and I liked what I'd experienced with North.
"I'm very happy that I'm a Kanga now."
Slender played most of her junior footy in defence, but she's likely to play at the other end of the ground with the Roos.
"I think I will be one of their forwards,'' she said.
"I'm very excited for that because I really enjoy playing forward even though I'm a backman at heart."
Slender was just as excited to see her Pioneers' team-mate Elizabeth Snell get selected by the Western Bulldogs with pick 26.
"It's great for the Pioneers to have two players drafted,'' she said.
"The Pioneers' girls program is developing into an elite program. It's giving girls from Kyneton all the way to Mildura the best chance to get drafted."
Slender is in Year 12 at Bendigo Senior Secondary College and she'll put everything into her schooling before moving to Melbourne later in the year.
"I want to go to RMIT in Bundoora next year, so I was keen to go to Melbourne (for footy) and stay close to my family,'' Slender said.
"School is important to me. It's been hard this year juggling school with footy and then the lockdown.
"I've told my family and the club that school comes first for me right now."
Slender lauded Pioneers' coach Danny O'Bree for his impact on her footy career.
O'Bree also coached Slender at Bendigo South East College.
"I credit all my success to Danny,'' she said.
"He's been with me every step of the way. He's supported me so much, he's just a lovely bloke."
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