Wild journey from premiership Bulldog to Hockeyroos Debut

Wild journey from premiership Bulldog to Hockeyroos Debut

Ash Utri chose hockey over Aussie rules with a dream of representing her country ? one she?s about to fulfil, five years after becoming an AFLW premiership player.

When a teenage Ash Utri chose hockey over Australian rules, winning a premiership with her beloved Western Bulldogs was an impossibility, while donning the green and gold as a Hockeyroo was a dream.

After all, the AFLW was just a thought bubble at AFL House when the talented junior athlete had to make the call. The Mazon over the Sherrin became a no-brainer for a young gun who would make her senior Premier League debut with powerhouse Essendon, at the tender age of 14.

But the dawn of the AFLW ? and a little help from a teammate ? presented her with the opportunity to don the red, white and blue, culminating in the 2018 AFLW flag.

That was five years ago and, after nearly giving up hope of ever representing Australia on the pitch, the 25-year-old is now on the verge of her first international hockey cap during the Hockeyroos? three-test series against India in Adelaide this week.

?You?re young and you?re trying to hang in there as long as you can and hope something happens,? Utri said.

?I still can?t believe it?s happening, I?m in shock.?

A gun striker with rare goal sense, Utri turned in a monster 2022 season, topping the Premier League?s scorers in Essendon?s grand final-winning campaign, and is among five debutants ? including good friend and premiership teammate Olivia Downes ? in coach Katrina Powell?s experimental squad.

All will be eager to make an impression ahead of August?s Oceania Cup, which doubles as qualifiers for the Paris Olympics.

?Olivia and I saw each other basically every day for five days and had no idea the other had made it, we kept it a secret from each other,? Utri laughed.

?I was having a nap when the teams came out and she called me and we were both so excited for each other.?

A lifelong Western Bulldogs fan, Utri was spotted by recruiting manager Mick Sandry who had kept tabs on her through his sister ? and Essendon Hockey Club teammate ? Kate Sandry.

Part of the national hockey set up at the AIS, coaches and high performance teams across the two sports co-operated to ensure Utri could cope with the extreme demands.

?It got a bit hectic, there were lots of moving parts to try to make it work and it?d get exhausting at times,? she said.

?I?d be at a national junior camp (hockey), I?d train at the camp and then I?d fly out one night to go play (footy) in Adelaide, then I?d come back and join back in on the camp.

?I look back at it now and I don?t know how I did it.?