Mahony thriving despite staying in Bunbury

Ruby Mahony has gone from strength to strength in her two seasons playing at Swan Districts in the WAFLW competition with her performances all the more impressive considering she's done it all while still living in Bunbury.

Mahony joined Swan Districts ahead of the 2022 WAFLW season and wasted no time to settling in establishing herself not only as one of the best and most consistent midfielders in the team, but in the competition overall.

That saw her finish runner-up in fairest and best voting in 2022 behind Abbygail Bushby and then she went one step better in 2023 winning the McSherry Medal as part of a season that also saw her named to the WAFLW Team of the Year and come runner-up in the league's Dhara Kerr Medal.

It's been a rapid rise in WAFLW ranks for the 23-year-old and while she was a little nervous to get up on stage to receive the McSherry Medal, she was tremendously proud of the honour.

"I was super nervous to go up on stage and talk to be honest, but it was honestly such an honour. It's amazing to know that my name is going to be in the history of the Swans best and fairest so it was amazing," Mahony said.

"I think it's always just that initial nervous feeling getting up there knowing what's to come, but once I started talking I was all good. It wasn’t too hard to find what to say and I had lots of people to thank so it ended up being an amazing night."

Going back a couple of weeks at the Dhara Kerr Medal night to announce the award winners for the WAFLW season overall, Mahony was leading after Round 12 and that's when she started to get a bit nervous about what she would do if she did end up winning.

She got a practice run up on stage with an interview and while she was nervous, the fact she was leading the vote count and ended up finishing runner-up to Claremont's Jayme Harken is a significant sign of the standout season she produced.

"That was definitely a worry coming towards the end of that count. Going into it, I had a few people say that I might go alright in this but I sort of didn’t think too much of it because I did miss a couple of games due to injury at the start of the season," she said.

"I just felt like it took me a while to find my feet after that early on so I didn’t think much of my chances. But then after Round 12 when I was leading the votes, they asked me to go up on stage and do an interview which definitely caught me off guard that's for sure."

When Mahony looks back on just how well she's done in her first two seasons playing in the WAFLW with Swan Districts with two top-two finishes in the McSherry Medal, and then coming runner-up in the Dhara Kerr Medal this year and making the WAFLW Team of the Year, she is grateful for the opportunity more than anything.

"I think coming away from that season with those two amazing achievements has definitely motivated me to keep going," Mahony said.

"I didn’t really expect to come away so successful at the end of the season so it was just really good and I feel like I've learnt so much in the two years playing alongside all the girls, and under the coaching of Dancey. It's been an amazing experience and I've definitely found a love for footy for sure."

Mahony had been enjoying playing football in Bunbury but wasn’t sure how seriously she wanted to pursue it until Swan Districts coach Adam Dancey caught sight of her representing the country team.

That saw her come down to Swans in the build up to the 2022 season and she's never looked back. She's now had two standout seasons with the black-and-whites and ultimately is proud of herself for biting the bullet to give it a go.

"I played in the City v Country match and then it was after that when Dancey reached out and basically asked if I wanted to try to give it a go up at Swans," she said.

"So I thought I would just bite the bullet and I came with a nothing to lose attitude, and thought if nothing else I would come away with some more knowledge.

"I just thought what the heck, I'd go all in and from then on I have loved it even when driving up to Perth every week. I guess it was just like a thing I would regret if I didn’t at least try and it's definitely been a positive experience. I'm so glad that I did decide to do it."

Making what Mahony has done on the football field over the past two seasons with Swan Districts all the more impressive is that she's been doing it all while still living in Bunbury.

That means driving to Perth and back for at least one training session a week and then on each weekend during the season, but she has embraced that because of how much she's enjoyed playing at Swans over the past two years.

"I am still living in Bunbury and am definitely thinking about making the move up next year so that I can possibly commit even a little bit more to both training sessions a week, and try to take it that next step," Mahony said.

"To be honest I felt like it was initially something to get used to but just playing alongside all the girls and coming away from training with how amazing the last two seasons have been has made that drive so much easier.

"And I love the game and I love to learn so it's not like it's a chore. The drive definitely would get tiring afterwards especially on my way home at night but on the way up I was always exciting just to come up to train."

It's fair to say that Mahony has a fair bit going on juggling two different jobs in Bunbury while throwing in the travelling up to Perth during the WAFLW season to train at least once a week, and then to play on the weekends.

However, she enjoys being busy and is thankful to both her employers with their help in allowing her to pursue her football ambitions, but she is weighing up a move to Perth in 2024 which she does believe would only help her football flourish further.

"It would definitely mean obviously relocating and finding work up in Perth, but it's something I'm definitely considering," she said.

"At the moment I'm a personal trainer here in Bunbury for Fitstop and I also work in retail at Rebel Sport so I work between the two. It's worked really well with them and they're very lenient and happy to work around my happy.

"So it's been really good to have their support and understanding with that. It's definitely a full plate but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I like to keep myself busy and I sort of don’t know what to do with myself in the time off."

Mahony now already can't wait for the 2024 WAFLW season at Swan Districts and that's whether or not she's moved up to Perth or is still making the commute from Bunbury.
She knows it's going to be a bit of a different feeling with a new coach in charge following the departure of Adam Dancey, but she can't wait to try to help Swans chase that elusive first WAFLW premiership.

"It's definitely going to be a different vibe but I'm super excited for the coming season," Mahony said.

"We've been so close over the last couple of years and I really think we've been building as a group, and will only keep getting stronger. I'm definitely keen to get back into it already to get ready for next year."