Tara Murray
Western Jets star Montana Ham continues to step up in the big moments as her dream of becoming an AFLW player becomes closer to being a reality.
Ham, who starred for the Western Jets in their NAB League Girls premiership, was one of the standouts at the recent NAB AFLW National Under-18 Championships.
The Keilor footballer was named Vic Metro player of the championships and was named in the All-Australian team.
Ham said this year’s championships, her last, was pretty special.
“The team all played well throughout the championships and to top it off with that award, it was just really good,” she said.
“It was definitely a lot sweeter in a sense of being the last one I can be a part of and we had a really great team and a great bunch of girls.
“We bonded really well during the start of the year through our camp and to be able to do it with such a great group of girls was even better.
“We had some great coaching staff and a great bunch of girls. I was able to showcase my talents throughout the national championships which was really good.”
Ham said she thought her performance was pretty good and she was stoked to be named in the All-Australian squad.
She had previously been named in the NAB League Girls team of the year for her performances with the Jets.
“I felt like I played a good consistent season and being able to get better week in week out,” she said.
“Using my coaches and the staff at the academy with Tarkyn Lockyer to get better each week. I was able to show my talents on the field.”
Ham played a key role for the Jets, as they claimed their first ever premiership. For the side, it was a lot different than in previous seasons when the group had struggled to put together the wins.
“We’ve definitely come a long from the start,” she said. The team was seen as a team easy to beat, now we’re one of the teams that is the hardest to beat.
“We all wanted to push ourselves this year as a group, so we sat down and obviously looked at what we can do better each week, We just hit the track and tried to get better each week.
“We had a really great connection within the group this year, we were able to trust each other and work with one another and that resulted in winning the grand final.”
For Ham and the rest of the potential draftees, it’s a waiting game to see what will happen next.
With talk of the AFLW season starting in August, the national combine and the draft could be held in the coming weeks but nothing is concrete.
Ham is set to play for the AFL Academy in an all-stars game on Sunday, but then she was planning to work on her skills and fitness ahead of the combine and draft.
She said the academy had been massive for her game.
“It’s the best opportunity,” she said. “I was really lucky to be selected at the start of the year and to be surrounded by great coaching staff and being able to use the resources available for us has been amazing.
“We had our first camp a couple of weekends ago, meeting all the girls from different states has been an awesome experience.”
For the Bulldogs supporter, being drafted would be a dream come true.
“I’m definitely really excited going into the next chapter of my career. It’s a dream that I’ve always wanted and if it happens I’ll be really excited.”
Ham’s Jets’ teammates Laura Elliott and Charlotte Baskaran are also part of the academy side and were named in the All-Australian team.
