Belconnen Magpies young gun Ally Morphett is set to become one the tallest players in the AFLW after being selected by the GWS Giants with their first pick in Tuesday's Draft.
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The 188cm ruck from Wagga, taken in the third round of this year's AFLW Draft, was on her way to football training when she heard the news.
"I got a phone call from Dad, he told me that the Giants want me as their first pick," Morphett said.
"I was just buzzing on the whole way up there, got out, got to training and it was one of the best training runs I've probably ever had."
Morphett has had to be flexible over the past 12 months, as she navigated the Covid pandemic with a focus on just trying to play football.
"I was playing down in the Victoria in the NAB league for the Murray Bushrangers, but I think it got to about round three and it got cancelled," Morphett said.
"I was lucky enough that AFL Canberra were still going ahead with their competition, so Mum, Dad and I made the decision to travel up to Canberra instead of going down to Victoria. So that was pretty lucky."
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The 17-year-old is not entirely unfamiliar with the Giants. Two years ago she had the chance to train with the club's AFLW squad.
"The girls just trained with such intensity, and it was a massive learning curve for me, I learned myself what's expected as an athlete at an AFLW club," Morphett said.
"I know what's expected of me and how I have to work. So, I'm really excited to get out on the track with all the girls, and the hard work definitely isn't over, it's just begun."
Morphett follows in the footsteps of fellow ACT AFL product Tarni Evans who was selected by the Giants with their first pick in the 2020 draft and appeared in seven of the Giants games this year.
Gold Coast selected Victorian Charlie Rowbottom with the number one pick on Tuesday.