Just four years after playing in her first football game, Warragul’s Jasmine Ferguson was drafted to North Melbourne in last week’s AFLW draft.
It kicked off an exciting fortnight for Jas who will play one last game for VFLW side Collingwood on Sunday as she seeks back-to-back premierships.
Selected at pick 51 in the virtual event, the 22-year-old defender had a long and nervous wait at home with her parents, Rob and Jo Ferguson, sister Remy and boyfriend Tim Mashado last Monday.
Although North Melbourne expressed interest, Jas wasn’t given any promises.
“I didn’t really tell anyone heading into the draft. I was nervous it wouldn’t happen and didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up.”
“My computer crashed halfway through, so I was extremely stressed. But we got it back up and running before my number was read.”
Her selection in round four was met with a lot of excitement, tears, cheering and relief.
A star of the netball and basketball courts from a young age, her unofficial introduction to football was a year seven school team at St Paul’s Anglican Grammar.
“It was girls running around, having fun, tackling each other, not knowing where the footy was, in the mud and getting a day off school,” she recalls.
Her official start came with Gippsland Power as an 18-year-old in 2018. The attraction of football was the challenge it mounted after not coming as easily as other sports.
“I don’t like not being good at something. I thought, I need to get good at this sport. So I worked hard to be okay at it.”
Her rapid improvement saw her picked up by Collingwood midway through the 2018 season before being part of the 2019 premiership side.
This year Jas joined the leadership team, found her place as anchor of the defence and became known for her intercept marks as the Pies enjoyed an undefeated season.
Qualifying for the grand final before the latest COVID lockdown, Jas is grateful North Melbourne has allowed her to play on Sunday and farewell her teammates.
“It’s very strange. By the time the grand final is played, we’ve had four weeks off. It’s just no crowds which is a bit annoying for everyone. But we’ve tried to have a positive mindset, we are lucky to play.”
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