Paterson Already Living Out Dream in Adelaide

Lily Paterson dedicated her life to football in 2024, going on to star in the WAFLW with Swan Districts and break down the wall for an AFLW chance - and she is already loving life at Port Adelaide.

After finishing school in 2023, Paterson decided to focus on her football and getting her body in the best possible state to play the game to give herself every chance to get drafted into the AFLW by the end of 2024.

The result was that she had a standout season in the midfield at Swan Districts averaging 24.2 possessions a game and to finish runner-up in the McSherry Medal to fellow rising star Carys D'Addario.

Paterson's hard work was recognised when selected in the AFLW Draft by Port Adelaide with pick No. 19. Now already the 18-year-old has settled into life interstate having moved from the family property in Brigadoon.

Paterson is also thankful to everyone at Swan Districts that helped her reach this dream of being in the AFLW including her captain Eliza Gelmi who she was also working with at the local Toyworld.

"I am so grateful to Swans for giving me the opportunity and letting me play that midfield role, but at the end of the day it comes down to the teammates that were there with me, and everyone who was there with me through thick and thin," Paterson said.

"The hard work that I put in myself was able to show but only because of the teammates I had around me and for so many people at Swans who supported me.

"I'll be forever thankful of Bev (Boyle), the coaches and everyone else who helped me along the way, but I can't thank my teammates enough to be honest."

After dedicated just about everything she had done in her life the previous 12 months after finishing school and delaying starting her university studies, it was a nervous wait for Paterson to find out if she would be drafted.

However once the night came in mid-December, she didn't have to wait for long and it's a moment she'll never forget.

"I was honestly just overwhelmed. It was just such a surreal moment and it was a dream come true, and you can't really prepare for how you're going to react in that situation. I just started crying, it was such an overwhelming feeling of emotions and I was just so grateful really," Paterson said.

"It's even better than you can possibly imagine to be honest. You think about that day for the months leading up to it and you just think about how you will react and how it will feel, but you never know until you are in that situation.

"It's honestly just the best feeling, you feel on top of the world and like you've been recognised for all the hard work you've put in."

Paterson was always going to be happy to move anywhere in the country to chase her AFLW dream. Already two weeks into living in Adelaide, she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

"I was always open to everything and God has this plan for everyone, and if it was meant to be it was meant to be. Obviously in this case it was meant to and it's the best thing for me and I couldn’t have thought of a better outcome," Paterson said.

"I've been here for about two weeks now and honestly the girls and the club, and everything, is even better than I could have imagined.

"It's my dream life honestly and everything that comes with it. The girls are amazing and I've already created such good connections with some of them so it's an amazing opportunity."

Paterson has also started living with someone she feels is the perfect roommate for her. With a couple more teammates next door, and Alberton Oval just down the road, she's got the perfect set up.

"I've moved in with Chloe Gaunt from Queensland and she's an amazing roommate. We're both very chill people so as you can imagine our household is pretty chilled and relaxed," she said.

"Then next door we've got Gemma Houghton and Alissa Brook, and they come over for dinner and stuff so it's a really good environment. We're right next to the club too so we definitely feel very much a part of it."

While Paterson isn’t taking anything for granted and knows there's a lot of work she needs to put in before the AFLW season starts in August for it to become a reality, but at the same time it's hard not to think of what it would be like to live out the dream of making her debut.

"It's hard not to think about what it would be like to play my first game and to run out there, but at the moment I'm just taking every step as it comes," Paterson said.

"I'm just taking in all the little things and experiencing everything that comes along, and getting used to living in Adelaide which is a really underrated place to live. I'm obviously thinking about what it would be like, but I'm trying not to dwell on it."

Leaving her family and the property in Brigadoon was never going to be easy for Paterson, but she knows that she is living her dream life and the family is happy for her, even if they aren’t letting her miss them just yet.

"I think they are definitely missing me a bit more than I'm missing them," Paterson said.

"They don’t really give me the chance to miss them with the phone calls every day, but they know I'm happy and I haven’t really had time to miss home yet.

"It just feels like a holiday still to be honest and of course I do miss them and love them heaps, but I'm living my dream and my goal that I've been working towards. So I'm just enjoying every bit that comes with it."