Two-time Grand Final winner Ailish Considine predicts that the calendar for the new AFLW season will be signed off within a fortnight.
Considine, 29, won her second Premiership medal with Adelaide Crows last month in the victory over Melbourne and admits it still feels like "a dream" to have achieved so much in her four seasons in Australia.
But the Clare woman acknowledges there has been an uncertain wait, especially for hopefuls coming from Ireland, for the outcome of scheduling talks between the AFL and the AFL Players' Association, which are tied in with the completion of a new bargaining agreement for contracts.
"They're trying to figure out new contracts and a season timeframe with the expansion teams and everything that goes with it," said the Clare woman.
"We don't know when the season is going to start, how long it's going to be, how many games it's going to be and what the contract is going to look like.
"So it's a little bit of a wait, it's a little bit frustrating not knowing how to plan for next season, especially when what we know so far is that we could potentially have a mid-June pre-season start date with an August start date for the season.
"That's rolling around pretty quickly when we're already in May and not having confirmation is a little bit frustrating, especially for people who have to decide on their futures or careers, or deciding whether to return home to Ireland for a couple of weeks or that kind of thing.
"That's obviously going to impact the Gaelic Football season as well, especially if our pre-season starts in June.
"New players coming out to the game who are signed this year, I'm sure clubs will be eager to have them out from the get go so they can get as much time as possible in pre-season.
"Our pre-season isn't overly long and time is really of the essence in terms of getting in as much game touch, skill touch and everything you can in that time.
"So it's certainly going to have an impact and that uncertainty is definitely not making the decision easier, that's for sure."
Considine was an interchange player in the Grand Final win against Melbourne but made a big impact on the game.
It was a case of smelling the roses a bit after the blur of her first success with Adelaide against Carlton in 2019 and last year's final loss to Brisbane.
"Yeah for sure, even in the week leading up to the Grand Final, that 2021 final loss really brought me back to earth in terms of really appreciating what I've had since I've been here, how fortunate I've been to have three Grand Finals in my four years here," she said.
"In terms of 2019, it was my first Grand Final, my family flew out and it was in front of 53,000 at a packed Adelaide Oval, it was just a dream come true.
"I've had that fairytale and this time around it was a real focus on trying to cement the hard work and get the reward for it because we were certainly hurt by the defeat to Brisbane.
"It was something that really hit a lot of us hard. We didn't want to be there again, we wanted to train harder, get better and get that one step further than the previous year.
"We had the same goal and that comes together when you have a squad that is really united and is selfless towards each other and towards the prize at the end, it makes such a difference.
"It was a really driving force to get so close and fall short of the line, and a lot of the girls brought that focus into this Grand Final.
"The hurt certainly brought us on but the drive for greatness within the squad was something that really drove on the performances this year.
"We made sure we worked hard to get back to the same place where we could right the wrong, I guess, of the year before. We were fortunate enough to do that on the day."
As for her own future, Considine admits she wants to take a leaf out of Cora Staunton's book and extend her career for as long as she can, although she would love to return to her Gaelic Football roots after her Australiana adventure ends.
"The plan for me is to keep playing for as long as I physically can and for as long as Adelaide will sign me," she said.
"It’s incredible what Cora has done, she’s an inspiration to everyone that has played Gaelic football, taken up a new sport.
"At her age to be such a prominent figure in the game of AFL, it’s an absolute credit to her and the work she’s put in over the years.
"I’m hoping I can last half as long as Cora - hopefully another 10ish years left!".
Ireland Rugby international Eimear Considine and AFLW player Ailish Considine have teamed up with Rugby Players Ireland, Zurich and the Z Zurich Foundation on the TYF Schools Programme. Eimear and Ailish star in two new videos to discuss the advice they wish they could give their younger selves, the importance of being kind to yourself in the age of social media and what they have learned from each other. The TYF Schools Programme is a classroom based, teacher led, life skills development programme which enables students to build healthy habits and personal coping strategies as well as kindness and understanding when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. For more information on Tackle Your Feelings follow the Instagram account @tyf or visit the website www.tackleyourfeelings.com which will share videos, updates on events and competitions.
