Maggie Caris knows a thing or two about elite sport.
Since joining the Dees at the end of last year, Caris has been splitting her time between AFLW and top-level netball, with 2022 set to look the same for the cross-code talent.
She has just been announced as one of six training partners to join the Melbourne Vixens in the Suncorp Super Netball League, a huge achievement for the 19-year-old.
“I’m really excited,” Caris told Melbourne Media.
“It’s going to be a lot of hard work.
“But the two clubs and the coaches have been really great and understanding, which has been really helpful.”
Caris’ netball journey began at her local league, but it wasn’t long before the tall defender was in representative sides at regional and state levels, landing her first spot in an Australian side when she was just 15.
Since then, she has featured in state teams and Australia squads in U17s, U19s and now U21s, while also playing for Melbourne University in the Victorian Netball League.
It’s fair to say that Caris’s netball portfolio is a pretty impressive one. And her football journey is no different, with the young gun breaking into elite sides within years of picking up the sport.
Like many, Caris was first acquainted with football at school sports in her early teens, before joining local and school competitions where she was scouted to try out for the Greater Western Victorian Rebels in the NAB League.
“From there that is when footy properly started,” Caris said.
“After Rebels I played for Vic Country and did the National Academy.”
In October of 2020, Caris’ football career went up a notch when she was drafted by the Demons with pick No.17 at the NAB AFLW Draft.
Standing at 190cm, she joined the club as a developing ruck with skills in the air and at ground level.
Having now spent more than 12 months at the Dees, the 19-year-old reflected on the growth she’s seen in herself and her football skills, as she continues to work hard on her ruck craft.
“[Last year] was a great learning curve for me,” Caris said.
“I think I was finding my feet and going through the motions of it all.
“This year, I have a better understanding of how AFLW works and how a professional football club works.
“As a young player coming into that, it was a lot to take in, but I think this year I’ve come in with a better focus.”
Working closely with specialist coach Justin Crough and fellow teammate Lauren Pearce, Caris said she felt lucky to be supported by such a knowledgeable group of experts.
“Crough and Loz have been the biggest influences, and even though Loz isn’t technically a coach, she’s such a good mentor and such a sensational leader,” Caris said.
“Ben Brown has also been really great, he’s been helping myself and Georgia (Campbell) a lot, as she’s working as a developing ruck and tall forward, so it’s been nice to have a few new things going on at training.”
After a year spent wanting to break into the side, Caris said that a change in mentality has been a major part of her work for 2022, ready to take on whatever comes at her.
“It’s the difference between my mindset from the start of last year to now,” Caris said.
“Last year, I purely wanted to get one game in, I was just going through the motions.
“And this year I’ve realised I’ve got to put the extras in and I’ve got a process I need to follow before I even start to think about playing games.
“So, I’ve been putting in the hard yards now, I’ve got a good pre-season under my belt, and I’ll continue to compete at training, trying and fighting to make the team.”
