'Something I've always wanted to do': Coach Campbell blends family and footy

Fresh from two years out of the team, Campbell is returning to coach the Roos women this season after being urged to do so by her former teammates. In doing so, she will become the first female head coach of an AFL North West women's team.

"It's something that I've always wanted to do," Campbell said.

"They were looking for a coach, and a few of the girls approached me and said 'I really think you should do it'."

In 2020, following the first spate of COVID-19 lockdowns, Campbell joined the Gunnedah Bulldogs when the Roos confirmed they would not field a women's team.

The following year, in 2021, Campbell gave birth to her third child, Spencer, and did not play.

This season, the 30-year-old has packed her schedule with coaching, a new job as an AFL development officer for the North West region, and continuing in her old nursing role - all while balancing the demands of raising three children.

Such an intense workload, she said, has been made a lot easier by the "really great" support network she has formed through football.

"My best friend, Erin, she played over in Gunnedah with me as well," Campbell said.

"She also had a baby as well, so we've taken the journey of getting fit together and really pushing each other with that.

"I do have Stu Goldfinch helping me out a little bit ... he's a level two coach so he has been a really fantastic for me to learn from and use."

In women's footy, it is not uncommon for players to take into account their children when deciding whether or not to participate.

The family-friendly atmosphere Campbell is cultivating at the Roos, she believes, will help entice players who have kids of their own.

"We go to training and there's a lot of girls who have babies as well, so we all take our babies and they play," she said.

"It's been fantastic, we've been able to get quite a few girls who hadn't thought they would be able to get back into sport because they've got babies."

With roughly half a dozen senior members of the team remaining, Campbell expects 2022 to be a year in which she spends time rebuilding the squad and developing the skills of the many newcomers to Aussie Rules.

"Everyone says they want to get a win under their belt, which would be fantastic," she said.

"To be honest, I've got a fantastic group of girls, so I'll be surprised if we don't do reasonably well this year. But for me it's more about developing them to be a team and helping them understand the game."

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