Ava Usher was quick to make an impact in her first season of AFLW.
Before her one-match suspension for a high bump in round 11, she was the outright favourite for the Rising Star.
Part of what made the 19-year-old integrate so easily into the AFLW was her multi-sport background, having competed in little athletics, swimming, basketball, boxing, footy and surf life saving (SLS).
The latter is a particularly common sport for Gold Coasters growing up, including many Suns players.
"I think most people [who have done it] would say that it's a very hard, grueling sport," Usher told ABC Sport.
"I started at four years old and [began] competing when I was about 10 or 11.
It teaches you a lot of discipline, and it definitely has carried over to footy." Gold Coast currently have nine players with SLS backgrounds, including five in the women's program (Usher, Havana Harris, Nyalli Milne, Lucy Single and Bronte Parker), and four in the men's (Jed Walter, Will Graham, Ethan Read and Jai Murray).
SLS competitions feature water-based events such as individual and team swims, board and ski paddling, and beach-based events, including high-speed sprints, relay races, and the intense "Beach Flags" elimination competition where athletes lie face-down in the sand and sprint for a baton upon a signal.
They also teach practical lifesaving skills, such as resuscitation, spinal management, rescue tube tows, and multi-person medical response.
"There's a lot of setbacks in surf lifesaving, it's a very unpredictable sport," Usher said.
"You might be ranked the best, but you never know how you're going to race on the day and what the conditions are....
