Kate Sheahan provided a trademark animated, interesting insight into her appointment as Richmond’s first AFL Women’s Football Operations Manager during her weekly segment on radio station SEN. Here’s what she had to say . . .

Thrilled to be part of the Tigerland family

“I’m genuinely so very excited. I walked into Richmond for the first time probably six weeks ago, not for any particular job point of view – just for an AFL Academy training session – and I had three to five people come up to me with big, warm smiles and ask, ‘Hey, how you going, what’s going on?’ Just real warmth . . . Then, when I walked in there for the presentation I made to five of the staff members, I felt really, really excited about this place. I felt like I really want to work here, so I was really pumped when they gave me the call and said we want you on board . . . Richmond’s one of the biggest AFL clubs in the league, so why wouldn’t I be excited to be going there!

Initial task

“There are a lot of things to be worked out along the way, but the pitch to the AFL for one of the (AFLW) licences in 2019 is due in about four weeks. Essentially it’s not my job to put the pitch together, but I will be helping those that are doing it to formulate what we see is the best women’s football team in the competition, and how we’re going to build talent, how we’re going to identify talent, how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s our point of difference.”

Prepared for the challenge

“It’s an exciting new challenge in my career, but I’ve done a lot of this sort of stuff with my tennis coaching, so it’s not as left-field as some may think. I’ve built teams with regards to hiring coaches, strength and conditioning staff, medical staff, and putting all that together for a squad-type environment . . . Now I get to do it in footy, and to use my experience from Collingwood (as a player in the inaugural AFLW season), and my experience just being in the AFL industry since I was a little girl. And I’m so excited . . . I am over the moon. I think we are going to nail this. I guarantee you we will do our best to make sure that we’re the best AFLW team in the ‘comp’.”

Relentless pursuit of excellence

“If Richmond don’t get a licence for 2019, we’ll continue to work on processes and pathways . . . We’re not going to stop until we get one because we believe, at Richmond, that we deserve one. We’ll have a really good crack at it when we do it . . . As far as I’m concerned, I want this to be the best AFLW environment any young female walks into – and they never want to walk out of! It needs to be a really harmonious and exciting place, with access to some of the best individuals in sports medicine, strength and conditioning, coaching, and all of the stuff which makes every girl that walks into the Club better when they walk out of it.”

Wonderful welcome

“On Sunday, the story was in the Sunday Herald Sun that I’d been given the job at Richmond. One of the things I said to Richmond was what’s really important is that the Club is one with its women and its men . . . They are in total agreement with that, which is terrific. Then, Sunday morning, I’m at the coffee shop, having a coffee, and a text message comes through on the phone with a number I don’t know. A picture comes up and this guy is pointing to the story in the paper with a big smile on his face and a thumbs up, and it says, “Welcome”. It was a text from Jack Riewoldt . . . All of a sudden, it got me quite emotional . . . No-one put Jack up to that. Jack went and got my number from someone and just wanted to say welcome to the footy club. Kane Lambert, another one of the Tigers boys, also messaged me on Sunday, saying welcome aboard. I think it’s just such a great sign about what the Club is doing and where it’s going and the positivity . . . Things are on the rise at Tigerland.”