Gaelic football convert Katy Herron says the physicality of AFLW is something she is still getting used to after Saturday’s full-scale practice match against Geelong. 

While her first hit-out came the weekend before in a match simulation against Richmond, Herron said it was good to take another step as she presses her case for a round one debut. 

“I probably took a few big hits early on, so in hindsight it was good that I’m not going to go into (the season) blind-sided by the physicality,” Herron said. 

“It was also nice to see how the game panned out as a whole. We played 20-minute flat quarters, so it was good for me to see where I’m at fitness-wise.” 

In a close contest, the Bulldogs unleashed in the final term with four quick, unanswered goals. 

Herron said that speed is something the group hopes it will be able to use to its advantage.

“We’ve been working a lot on fitness and I suppose we did drop off in the third quarter, so we wanted to build on that again and finish strong,” the 30-year old said. 

“I think there were parts of the game that were a bit panicky and we were probably rushing the ball a bit too much, so it was nice to kind of relax a bit in the fourth quarter and show our true potential. 

“A lot of the younger and newer girls bring a lot of pace and that’s probably from their youth – they’re flying around and doing brilliantly. 

“I know we’ve got the shortest (height-wise) list now in the league, but when you have that pace then that’s something teams hopefully won’t be able to deal with as much as others, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage.” 

Before making the switch to AFLW, Herron was a key member of the Donegal senior ladies panel, which had just won its third successive title.

She admitted she is still working at transferring some of her Gaelic skills. 

“I spent that long trying to stop when I got the ball, and now it’s trying to adapt to the times when you need to run or slow it down. I did a lot of running back home so it’s just trying to gauge the right time to take off,” she said. 

“That’s probably something I’m going to have to work on in the weeks to come, but it’ll come with practice.

“Again the physicality is probably a lot more than what we have at home – it’s just being ready for that and being able to take the challenges as they come.” 

The AFLW Bulldogs will meet St Kilda in their season-opener at RSEA Park, Moorabbin on Sunday, February 9.