Plummer excited to join Swan Districts for 2024 WAFLW season

New Swan Districts defender Hannah Plummer is already feeling right at home at Steel Blue Oval to make her WAFLW return in 2024 and couldn’t be more excited heading into her first season.

Plummer previously played at Subiaco up until breaking her ankle in 2022 and after going through that season on the sidelines, she just felt she might have needed a bit of a break from playing in the WAFLW competition.

She ended up playing some football still in 2023 in the Perth Football League with University so she didn’t take a complete break, but the police officer wasn't quite sure if she wanted to give it another crack at WAFLW level.

However, given how close she lives to Steel Blue Oval, she found herself coming down to join in for some training sessions over pre-season and then it just became a natural that she would jump on board for the 2024 WAFLW season with Swan Districts.

"I just went and played some Ammos last year. I was at Subi and I broke my ankle and then I wasn’t overly enjoying my footy and was on the sidelines for so long," Plummer said.

"I didn’t think I wanted to play anymore and the I ended up enjoying playing Ammos, but I think having that bit of a break from WAFLW has really helped me want to come back.

"I live in Bassendean so I would come down to Swans a fair bit and Jason (Burton), the forwards coach, contacted my aunty because he knew her somehow. He talked about having seen me out there so he wanted to know if I wanted to officially come on board.

"I thought I might just give it a shot to start with, then about a week later I got a call from Bev and she wanted me to come on board. So once two people had asked me, I thought I would just give it a shot and I had no idea how far I would get, but I wanted to give it a go."

As for playing Subiaco for the first time for premiership points, Plummer has no doubt that's going to be an extra nerve-racking experience, but at least she's already done it once in a pre-season game.

"I'll be nervous for sure in that first game against Subi," Plummer said.

"We did play our first scratch match against them and I was actually really nervous for that, and I was telling all the coaches that I was shaking pre-game and I didn’t want to get bullied out there.

"But it was all good and I'm sure I'll enjoy it when it happens even though I'll be nervous in the normal season."

Now that Plummer is at her second WAFLW club, it offers her the chance to notice some differences. What has already stood out to her at Swan Districts is the way the female program is treated like it's on a par with the men.

"At the two clubs, I've noticed that at Subi it was very separate with the girls from the guys, and even with the coaches focusing on a few of the players mostly," she said.

"It was welcoming, but not in the same way that Swans is where all the coaches get around everybody.

"I have found Ben's feedback really good already but at Subi I just felt like while you were support to a degree, you weren’t supported by the men's side. But at Swans we feel supported 110 per cent and like we are equals which is nice."

What has also stood out to Plummer on the field at Swan Districts is just how talented the young players coming through are.

She's learning from them all the time but she's also impressed with how well the whole group gets along, especially the back-line unit she'll be part of.

"Especially watching a lot of the girls and seeing their skills is just amazing," she said.

"You can see a lot of the younger girls are pushing up and their skills are just amazing, and they are even teaching me a lot of stuff that I didn’t know.

"Then with our back-line where I'll be playing, the girls there are just absolutely amazing and we have a very close bond. I feel like that's what makes the team because we work so well together."

While working as a police officer and having to juggle those shifts with football commitments is a challenge, Plummer wouldn’t have it any other way.

Given how full on her job can be, having the distraction of football is something that she is thankful for too or else it's the type of job that can take over every aspect of your life.

"I feel like the balance is pretty good that I've got with my work and footy," Plummer said.

"My boss is really good understanding of my footy commitments, and I feel like if I wasn’t to play footy then my whole life would just revolve around work.

"Especially doing shift work it is hard going straight from a night shift finishing at 7am, and then have to go out to play in the morning for our scratch matches.

"So it can be tough at times on days like that, but I feel like it makes it easier when you've got such good coaches and support around you."