At the start of 2021 Olivia Fuller (pictured) had no intentions of running onto a football field, but by the end of the year she could be making her AFLW debut for Geelong.

The remarkable transformation was complete on Thursday night when Millicent kid Fuller was one of three new recruits alongside Claudia Gunjaca and  Rachel Kearns announced to join the Cattery ahead of the upcoming AFLW season.

 Fuller was rewarded with the opportunity to play at the top level off the back  of a strong debut campaign in the VFLW where she has led the Cats to a finals berth.

The competitive ruck said she has only just started to come to terms with the shock.

“It just did not feel real I suppose,”  Fuller said on her recruitment.

“I am trying not to think about the debut because it could be ages away, but it is very exciting because all the little things I have done were towards this big goal.” Fuller grew up in Millicent and was an  active member of the sporting community playing netball for Tantanoola and  the Limestone Coast Women’s Football League for the Saints, but basketball was always her main priority.

the court numerous times and moved to Geelong for university at the end of 2018 to pursue her basketball career  in the Big V League for the Bellarine Storm.

But she is no stranger to jumping in the deep end, with her first game of women’s football against some of the nation’s best.

“I am good friends with (Adelaide Crows AFLW player) Jess Allan and she was doing a state thing in Adelaide, so I thought I would try it out,” Fuller said.

“I made the South Australia Under 18’s team and played three games which were my first proper games and from that competition we were picked in an Allies team.

“I did not really know what I was doing, but I had a lot of competitiveness and fire.” Despite not kicking a Sherrin in anger again for a few years, these high-level experiences put Fuller in good stead for what was to come as the chance to play for Geelong in the VFLW “came out of nowhere”.

“I had not played footy in a couple of years and a local coach just randomly messaged me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to go for a kick and I thought ‘why not’,” she said.

“During the kick he asked if I wanted to be involved in the VFL because he had some contacts who could get me in.

“Initially I said no because I had not played for so long, but one of my friends started to play and because I am ultra-competitive I joined in too.” Fuller admitted at the start of her VFLW journey she thought she was “not going to get a game” but earned her debut in an opening round thriller against Collingwood.

She has since become one of the first selected in Geelong’s team as the ruck and has collected 224 hit outs, 147 disposals and 15 clearances across the 16 games played in 2021.

Fuller said it was tough balancing her commitments between the oval and court, but eventually the vibe at  Kardinia Park pulled her towards football.

“It has been a pretty high workload of basketball and football with so many expectations,” she said.

“I had to do extra work at trainings with footy in the morning and then basketball in the afternoon and again the next day.

“I will always love basketball, but the football club’s culture brought the best out of me.” Fuller led the Cats all the way to the finals and they were ready to fight for a decider berth against Essendon, but the Victorian lockdown got in the way.

Although the to be confirmed AFLW season is expected to launch in September, Fuller still has her eyes set on the chance to play in a VFLW grand final and is “absolutely pumped” at the prospect.

During the lockdown she has been working with a strength and conditioning coach to complete interval, sprint and long-distance runs, plus home workouts.

Fuller has already spent time with the Cats AFLW side during a training session on Saturday and feels part of the team.

“I already knew many of the girls through the VFLW and they are a great group,” she said.

“The first training was absolutely nerve-racking, but they were really inviting and made me feel welcome.

“Although it is football at a high level, they know I am new and will make mistakes and if you do, they get around you and bring you back up.

“I still do not have much experience compared to most of the players, so I am really going to be focus on game sense trying to be a smarter player.” Despite only playing a small amount of competitive women’s footy, Fuller said this type of support from Geelong gave her belief she can mix it with the best.

“Everyone at Geelong has been really supportive and helped me every step of the way,” she said.

“We just have to go for it now and make the most of it.” The NAB AFLW Draft took place after the paper went to print on Tuesday night with Mount Gambier’s Brooke Tonon hoping to become an Adelaide Crow.