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Raw Toast
29-04-2020, 01:43 PM
Although this was a very frustrating season*, Huntington was superb down back, in a move that brought back memories of Chris Grant's temporary shift to the backline.

She's a very deserved winner of the Rising Star (https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/587760/huntington-becomes-bulldogs-first-ever-rising-star), and hopefully can help lead us to another flag in the next couple of seasons:


Izzy Huntington once feared she may never reach the heights she dreamed of – and many good judges tipped her for – as repeat knee injuries threatened her football career.

The young Western Bulldogs star, the dux of the 2017 AFLW draft class, can't change history but she went some way to fulfilling her huge promise in her third season at the top level this year.

Huntington, 21, was named in the Toyota AFLW All-Australian team for the first time on Monday, and on Tuesday night she was crowned as the competition's NAB AFLW Rising Star.

She came out on top with 33 votes, to finish ahead of St Kilda young guns Caitlin Greiser (30) and Georgia Patrikios (24), and Gold Coast's Kalinda Howarth (24).

"It's been fairly chaotic," Huntington told womens.afl.

"It's been really exciting for the League with all the awards being announced and, to be honest, when 'Burkey' (coach Nathan Burke) announced I was in the All-Australian team, it was enough of a shock.

"Now to receive this – I honestly really didn't expect it. I thought my time as a young player had passed, after a couple of knee reconstructions … it's very heartwarming."

Huntington's injury tale is well told, with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture on both knees, a broken right leg, cartilage damage and a knee sprain all in the past six years.

That sprain in December 2018 to her reconstructed right knee was actually a good result, given there were early fears she may have sustained a third ACL tear.

However, it still meant Huntington didn't return to the field until round five last year and she had played just five matches across her first two AFLW seasons.

Then, as former Bulldogs coach Paul Groves set her for a new positional assignment down back in the VFLW in 2019, cartilage damage ended the trial after just one quarter.

But Groves' replacement, St Kilda great Nathan Burke, also thought a move from the forward line into defence would suit Huntington and she was a force there this year.

She ended the AFLW season ranked equal-first for contested marks and second for intercept possessions and, most importantly, played five of the Dogs' six games.

"As someone who's gone through a lot of long-term injury, and I'm sure others can relate, it's one of the most daunting things," Huntington said.

"The idea you may never play at the level you did before, or reach any potential you might have, is pretty tough, so I was thrilled to get back, play in round one and get a few games under my belt.

"The main focus was just getting my body right and it's been a long journey but I've had an amazing support crew."

Huntington's future was always bright, even with all her injury setbacks.

She recorded a 98.10 ATAR score and is completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, with the goal of working in medicine.

But Huntington, who is in the Bulldogs' leadership group and their delegate in last year's pay discussions, first wants to make her mark in the AFLW.

"The individual accolades, they come and they're very heartwarming, but any player will tell you they'd much rather a premiership or team success than anything individual," she said.

"Hopefully, we can get many more wins on the board next year, because we were a bit disappointed with the season this year … and we want to rectify that in the coming season."

Huntington received the NAB AFLW Rising Star medal, a $20,000 personal investment folio and a dedicated personal banker, courtesy of NAB.


*While 4 of our past players finished in the top 10 for the Best & Fairest, at least none of them got to win the flag.... Not that I'm bitter at all.

HOSE B ROMERO
02-05-2020, 04:19 PM
Thanks Raw Toast. Yeah she can play both ends. Would like to see her back up forward but i guess it depends on team balance. And she's a leader.
And good to see you're not bitter just like me ;)

Dancin' Douggy
07-05-2020, 11:51 AM
My daughter played all her junior footy in the same team as Izzy. You could tell she was gonna be a star. I just loved, and love, watching her play. Let's hope she avoids any more injuries.

SquirrelGrip
24-03-2022, 01:23 PM
Well this would suck.

https://www.womens.afl/news/91330/giants-plotting-shock-trade-swoop-for-gun-bulldog

Giants plotting shock trade swoop for gun Bulldog

GREATER Western Sydney is planning a shock AFLW trade swoop, with the club circling popular Western Bulldogs young gun and former NAB AFLW Rising Star winner Isabel Huntington.

Womens.afl understands the Giants have significant interest in luring Huntington to New South Wales during the upcoming trade period, where the club hopes to build its future around the strong-marking goalkicker.

Huntington, who is still weighing up her options, is in the process of recovering from another disappointing ACL injury sustained in January and would be unlikely to feature in the early stages of next season.

However, despite it being the third ACL tear in Huntington's young career, it hasn't deterred the Giants from making a substantial attempt to sign the highly talented 23-year-old in the coming months.

https://i.postimg.cc/bNw3bTKR/Izzy-injured.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

As she would be leaving for an existing AFLW side, the Giants would have to satisfy the Bulldogs in a trade for Huntington should she wish to leave.

The arrival of the four remaining expansion sides into next year's AFLW season also means the upcoming NAB AFLW Draft order is yet to be determined, with the Giants not yet knowing which picks it can offer in a trade.

The club finished sixth from the bottom during the 2022 campaign, though its starting point in the draft will likely be diluted by the impending arrival of expansion teams Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney.

Huntington, a former No.1 selection in the draft, was named an All-Australian and as the Rising Star winner playing in the backline during the Dogs' 2020 season. She then kicked 12 goals as a forward in 2021 to finish as the club's leading goalkicker.

Her versatility and ability to perform at either end of the field, in addition to her strong leadership skills, have seen Huntington quickly emerge as one of the AFLW's most popular players.

Huntington has featured 20 times at AFLW level, kicking 18 goals.

Happy Days
24-03-2022, 01:56 PM
Man shit like this is really stunting fan engagement with the AFLW and kind of reinforces that the AFL only want a women’s competition to have a women’s competition.

Bulldog Joe
24-03-2022, 04:01 PM
Huntington should be untouchable, but the limited contracts available would make it difficult.

I know the players need to do the best for themselves, but losing Issy would really make it difficult for ordinary supporters to feel attached to the Women's side.

jazzadogs
24-03-2022, 06:24 PM
Do clubs still have a couple of marquee contracts? Obviously Ellie would have one of ours, but I would have put Izzy second in line.

Strange choice to build a club around a woman with her injury history though (even though she is a great footballer and person).

bornadog
24-03-2022, 06:36 PM
Do clubs still have a couple of marquee contracts? Obviously Ellie would have one of ours, but I would have put Izzy second in line.

Strange choice to build a club around a woman with her injury history though (even though she is a great footballer and person).


We have backed her and looked after her through those injuries, so time to pay back. I will not be happy if she leaves.

Bulldog Revolution
24-03-2022, 11:14 PM
We have backed her and looked after her through those injuries, so time to pay back. I will not be happy if she leaves.

Agreed - I’ll be gutted - she’s a great young athlete, and a terrific person

GVGjr
24-03-2022, 11:16 PM
Agreed - I’ll be gutted - she’s a great young athlete, and a terrific person

Yep, hope she sees the light.

SonofScray
25-03-2022, 01:04 AM
This news set me off on a foul mood today.

BornInDroopSt'54
12-04-2022, 10:22 PM
It is a crap competition atm with no loyalty.
Teething problems that undermine loyalty, faith and community.
Izzy deserves the best offer she can get and the ire of Dog supporters thereafter.
How can we hope to keep a good team under this expansion?

bornadog
12-04-2022, 11:12 PM
It is a crap competition atm with no loyalty.
Teething problems that undermine loyalty, faith and community.
Izzy deserves the best offer she can get and the ire of Dog supporters thereafter.
How can we hope to keep a good team under this expansion?

The last of the expansion coming up and then I think the comp will settle down.

SquirrelGrip
13-04-2022, 11:54 AM
The last of the expansion coming up and then I think the comp will settle down.

It's going to be an interesting recruitment period, as with the competition moving to August, they won't be able to draft any Year 12s this year as they would be doing their exams during the season.

With clubs unable to draft the younger ones, they have to be aggressive and creative with filling their lists. And of course the new clubs want some level of experience on their lists.

bornadog
13-04-2022, 11:56 AM
It's going to be an interesting recruitment period, as with the competition moving to August, they won't be able to draft any Year 12s this year as they would be doing their exams during the season.

With clubs unable to draft the younger ones, they have to be aggressive and creative with filling their lists. And of course the new clubs want some level of experience on their lists.

The August start will also stop all the players that had an ACL (i think around 11 players), to miss the season completely.

Gillon may have been the one to help push the competition, but there was no forward planning on how the competition should look etc.

soupman
13-04-2022, 05:53 PM
It's going to be an interesting recruitment period, as with the competition moving to August, they won't be able to draft any Year 12s this year as they would be doing their exams during the season.

With clubs unable to draft the younger ones, they have to be aggressive and creative with filling their lists. And of course the new clubs want some level of experience on their lists.

So you're saying whatever draft pick/s we get for Huntington will be used on players that weren't quite good enough for last years draft and are now just 8 months older.