IT’S not every day that we see an American dominating in the AFL.
But Portland Sockeyes and now Keilor midfielder, Jess Blecher, made Joe Brown Oval her own in the inaugural EDFL Women’s game on Good Friday.
Blecher looked at home in Keilor’s red, white and blue and says she felt that way when she chose to play for the Blues.
“The culture of the team is awesome,” Blecher told essendondfl.com.au.
“Everyone’s just taken me on-board like family and I just loved it.
“It felt like home and I knew I could get better from here.”
Blecher kicked two goals and was named Keilor’s best in the 70-point win over Strathmore.
She stood out on the field, where she burst through contests with her speed (and socks) right up.
Blecher says her sporting background has helped to develop her skills in Aussie Rules.
“My whole life I was playing soccer,” the Keilor recruit said.
“That's why my socks are all the way up.
“I've done cross country and track as well so I kind of have that running background.
“I never really did the basketball and volleyball stuff, so the handball and the taps are kind of weird to me but yeah, definitely soccer and running are my backgrounds.”
For Blecher, walking onto Joe Brown Oval and walking into training at Portland are different feelings, but both mean a lot to her.
“You just drive around Melbourne and there’s footy ovals and posts everywhere and it just warms my heart because basically, we just take our soccer complex and kind of outline our own lines and put PVC pipes as our goals,” she explained.
“They’re short, so it’s even harder to tell if it’s a goal or not.
“Most girls in the States are trying to get better but most are kind of out there for fun.
“It’s high-intensity and I love it.”
Blecher is looking forward to her future at the Keilor Football Club but has higher goals in mind for her future.
The Fremantle supporter admits she would love to play VFL Women’s and that AFLW is a “pipedream” of hers.
But for now, her heart is red, white and blue as she aims to give her all for the Keilor Football Club.
