Melbourne AFLW captain Daisy Pearce will enter season seven of the competition with redemption on her mind.
The Demons legend will look to lead her side to grand final glory in 2022, with a second chance arriving to avenge the heartbreak of last season's loss to the Crows at the final hurdle.
Pearce has been the face of the competition since its inception but is yet to taste the ultimate success. And with her time on the combative side of the white line closer to the end than the beginning, she isn't letting last season's near fall go by without using it to aid her quest.
Speaking to Zero Hanger on the eve of the start of Season 7, Pearce said Melbourne had unpacked the grand final loss as a team mentally. While the three-time All-Australian acknowledges that everyone deals with the heartache differently, she said the Demons needed to use the hurt as a learning experience.
"In the initial aftermath, we sat down and have really good conversations as a group, with Mick (Stinear) as well," Pearce detailed.
"A couple of good club functions that bring you back together as well in the couple of weeks after and we did a bit of work unpacking it from a mindset point of view.
"(From) a game style point of view both with coaches and our team psych and that kind of thing but everyone's different with the way they deal with it. We have to take every opportunity to learn and get better and go from there."
With the memories of that final day slip up in early April, the quick turnaround between seasons may be a blessing for the hungry Dees. Fortunate enough to avoid the usual lengthy lay-off that comes between AFLW seasons, the seventh edition of the competition can't come fast enough for those in red and blue.
Pearce said that getting back into the club so quickly and being able to lean on the resources available inside the four walls at Melbourne was exciting.
"I guess it's been a bit of a blessing," Pearce said.
"I think for anyone in AFLW the off-season is so long and it's not like you're sitting around doing nothing. You're just training as much as you normally do without the support and resources of the club around you all the time.
"The short turn-around has been good from that point of view. To be back in around the club with coaches and physios and that kind of thing.
Pearce said that the Dees had gone to work and looked at how they can take the next step, something that has so far eluded a club that trail-blazed the way in women's footy.
"From a team point of view, bouncing back from the grand final is good as well," Pearce explained.
"The initial hurt and disappointment that we all processed in our own way when we had a bit of time off, but to get back together and then be so focussed on what we're doing right now and looking ahead was probably a good thing for us."
"We're trying to get better from a game style point of view but then I guess have the resilience to perform at your best more often and in all different scenarios be it what different teams will throw at you or different venues and different scenarios like the pressure of Grand Final day.
"It was a good experience so you want to learn as much from it as you can."
The three-time Melbourne Best and Fairest went on to say that the quick off-season wasn't too dissimilar to any other despite the dramatic change in season dates.
A firm belief that you can always grow and learn has driven Pearce to find ways to improve despite her vast experience in the game. She said that even with the smaller gap between seasons she found it wasn't too different to any other year.
"It's not too dissimilar to any footy season really," Pearce said.
"That's always the aim, to keep getting better and finding a way unless you've won it. It's not too different to how we've usually treated most off-seasons and the opportunity to learn."
Pearce's off-season wasn't short of action though with her duties as a commentator for the men's game once again being thrust into the spotlight due to some dated comments from former commentator Rex Hunt.
Hunt insinuated that Pearce's position within AFL media and her role within the mens game was due to fill gender quotas as opposed to being employed because of her ability to analyse the game.
“The air conveyance scientist who gave Carey the lemon to Saturday night on Channel Rex and gave Daisy, a wonderful lass, the main gig on Fridays is a gun," Hunt said.
“He...I assume…was forced into such a weak gutted sit down and piss decision by pressure to have equal genders everywhere."
A role model for women and girls across the country, Pearce took the comments in her stride and responded at the time with the grace and class we've come to expect.
Now set to become "Daisy Pearce the footballer" and somewhat shed the skin of "Daisy Pearce the commentator", Pearce said she can't wait to return to her first love.
"I love pulling on the boots and going out to play is my number one love," she said.
"As much as I'm grateful for the other opportunities and enjoy what I do, nothing compares to running out there with the Dees."
As the years tick by, Pearce's time lacing up the boots is nearing its conclusion. However, she is refusing to put a number or time frame on it ahead of the new season.
"I don't know (how long I have left)," Pearce said.
"I'm going to stop putting any time frame on it because then people keep talking about. I've been saying one more, I think this is my fourth "one more".
"I don't know how many "one mores" I've got left in me, but we'll see."
