“With the brain you wake up and you’re not quite sure how you’re going to feel.” - Katie Brennan was confined to darkness, debilitated by headaches, deeply frustrated by enforced isolation and a sense of helplessness, following the concussion that ended her 2020 season.
Richmond's AFLW captain Katie Brennan has detailed symptoms and an eight-week period of rehabilitation, in the tenth episode of podcast; re-living a mid-match injury she sustained in Bendigo and the extended aftermath where her head “was not okay”.The Originals

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I still see myself as a dual athlete ... I still want to represent my country one day at the Olympics and the world championships." - Mon Conti wants to be living proof that balancing an elite basketball and Australian rules football career is possible.
In the ninth episode of podcast, Monique Conti checks in from Western Australia with her boyfriend and fellow Richmond footballer, Sydney Stack, and could not be clearer on her ambitions. She is more intent than ever on pursuing a dual sporting career.The Originals

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I say: have compassion. Compassion is what we need as a nation.” - Akec Makur Chuot's big vision for, and strong desire to be part of, multi-cultural and refugee education in Australia.
In the eighth episode of podcast Makur Chuot describes her early life spent either in a refugee camp in South Sudan, or in transition, vividly, and the perspective her experiences provide still. The Originals

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“To start with I probably struggled a little bit, looking at the likes of Lucy McEvoy and Georgia Patrikios, who I played with or was in the academy with. -Sophie Molan on unhealthy comparison between herself and other leading 2020 recruits.
In the seventh episode of The Originals podcast Sophie Molan has shared her feeling that she was “letting her team down” and tabled mental challenges that feel unfamiliar after dominating in AFLW pathway competition.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Lots of feeding, no sleeping and that’s it." - Courtney Wakefield on driving herself to Bendigo for a physical try out to join Richmond.
Family relocation, epic road trips, breastfeeding in a grandstand during a trial to become a Tiger. Courtney Wakefield’s determination to play AFLW has featured all of this and much more as discussed in the sixth edition of The Originals podcast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“It was the first decision I had made for my future not based on what other people think, which is a huge step for me” - Sabrina Frederick on making the move to Melbourne.
Sabrina Frederick details the reasons behind her name change – a multi-layered choice that became public when one of the AFLW’s biggest fish left Brisbane and joined Richmond.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Even today I still feel like I could play. But the risk that I run is far too great.”Tom Hunter on his spinal condition.
Richmond AFLW coach Tom Hunter details physical pain he experienced in the initial aftermath of what were career-ending collisions when he was a Collingwood player, in the fourth episode of The Originals podcast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I wasn’t quite sure where it fit, and I wasn’t quite as engaged with it then anywhere near as I am now.”Neil Balme on AFLW.
“It was just great to see the camaraderie and the spirit that was down there.”Kevin Bartlett after addressing Richmond’s team before its AFLW debut.
“To have them join the league gives the league just that much more substance.”AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan on Richmond joining AFLW.
In a special AFLW debut match episode of podcast, Neil Balme, Sabrina Frederick,Kevin Bartlett, Katie Brennan,Gillon McLachlan and more reflect on Richmond's 'opening night'.The Originals

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“When a player like Katie Brennan is interested in joining your program you know you’re doing something right.”Richmond AFLW senior coach, Tom Hunter.
“At one point I remember thinking to myself: ‘I’m in a world of pain here because I don’t even know where the hell to start’.”Kate Sheahan, Richmond women’s football operations manager.
“This is women going nuclear.”Richmond CEO Brendon Gale
City dining, almond scrolls and a boardroom meeting with club heavyweights – Richmond’s legwork to lure a trio of AFLW stars was not only successful, it was also deeply strategised. In the second episode of The Originals podcast, Sam Lane covers how Richmond landed Katie Brennan, Sabrina Frederick and Monique Conti.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I was angry. I was. Only because I thought it was unjustified.”– revisits Richmond’s first bid for an AFLW licence on podcast.Peggy O’NealThe Originals
“I learnt a hell of a lot.“I’m a 40-year-old, white, male…that played at this club. So I’m the football master race so to speak. And I probably didn’t recognise the extent of my own bias, and my own blind spots.”– on the Tigers’ game-changing gender report on podcast.Brendon GaleThe Originals
A new Richmond Football Club team. A new Richmond Football Club podcast.
The Originals charts the arrival of a new breed of Tiger; a series launched in the countdown to Richmond’s AFL Women’s competition debut on February 7.
Written and presented by award-winning journalist and author, Sam Lane, the series begins with the mapping out Richmond’s path to joining the AFLW competition.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.