GEORGIA McLean’s football talent was first spotted almost four years ago, on the eve of the 2012 AFL Grand Final.
 
In fact, it was front page news.
 
The Age’s Greg Baum spotted a Hawks staffer sending “picture-perfect, low, skimming downwind passes to a colleague” at grand final open training at Waverley Park.
 
Comparing McLean to a right-footed Matthew Suckling, Baum said she was “the best female kick this reporter has seen”.
 
Fast forward to 2016, and while Suckling has moved on from Hawthorn, McLean still dons the brown and gold as the club’s Community Partnerships Coordinator.
 
Only a fortnight ago, her football talents again stood out.
 
This time it was at the AFL’s national talent search at the Whitten Oval, where she was one of just a dozen players from a non-football background added to the AFL Victoria Female Academy Development Squad for 2016.
 
More than 140 prospective female athletes took part in the Victorian talent search, which incorporated both fitness and skills testing.
 
McLean said she went in with an open mind, and was surprised by the talent on show.
 
“I didn’t know what to expect,” she told hawthornfc.com.au.
 
“I honestly was really surprised at the talent that was there. I wasn’t really expecting much of myself, but it was surprising when you’re in that situation how far you can push yourself.
 
“It was good to be able to be in a situation that professional AFL players go through, and have been going through for years… that full AFL draft style setup, I hadn’t really done any of those testings before.
 
“A lot of the girls were really evenly matched with their times, and the girls’ skills were really impressive.”
 
Coming from predominantly a basketball background, but with a strong interest in football among other sports, McLean said the new challenge was what excited her most about the AFL’s women’s league, which is set to launch in 2017.
 
“I met a lot of girls who did athletics, netball and basketball,” she said.
 
“I played a lot of basketball when I was younger, that was probably my main sport, but I’m a bit of an all-rounder. I like most sports – watching them and playing them.
 
“I love being active and being out there, and the new challenge. When this came up I thought to myself why not give it a go – it’s never been done before and it’s a new opportunity.”
 
The next step for McLean now is taking part in the AFL Victoria Female Academy Development Squad program, which kicks off in March.
 
She’s hoping to learn as much as possible to try to fast-track her football development.
 
Talent search sessions head to Brisbane (February 7), Adelaide (February 14), Sydney (February 21) and Hobart (February 28).
 
McLean said it was an exciting time for female athletes.
 
“Being a female athlete, it’s always been hard. You look at some of them with second jobs and struggling to juggle it all… To have the possibility of being a professional in a year or two years, and just having a clear pathway for younger girls coming through is really exciting,” she said.
 
“There’s a lot of talented girls out there, and it’s good to see that we’re given that opportunity now to prove ourselves.”
 
Port Adelaide has already signed Olympic basektballer Erin Phillips under the ‘father-daughter’ rule ahead of 2017, and McLean said she would jump at the opportunity to don the brown and gold.
 
“I wish… that would be great,” she said.