LAST week it was announced that Melbourne’s former No.7, Shae Sloane would join the club’s AFLW coaching group, taking on a development role.

Sloane’s coaching pathway came to fruition after an injury forced her to the sidelines during her playing time, exposing her to an unofficial role within the coaching box and kickstarting the next step within her AFLW journey.

And while it may not have been an ideal introduction to the coaching experience, Sloane explained why it has become a benefit for her role now.

“It was a bit unfortunate to get the exposure to it the last three years,” Sloane told former teammate Libby Birch.  

“But it’s put me in good shape to come, pretty seamlessly, into the coaching group.

“It’s been a really comfortable start and I’m really loving it so far.”

Having joined Melbourne back in 2019, Sloane has built strong relationships with many of the players and coaches. These relationships have become another advantage that she will look to bring into her role this year.

“I think it’s such a benefit that I’ve trained and played with all of you,” Sloane said.

“I’ll bring [into the role] a bit of that connection and that side of friendship that we’ve got from playing together for the last few years.”

Sloane spent her playing time in Melbourne’s back line, bringing this experience into her development role, and working closely with the defensive unit.

“We want to build on last year, it was such an exciting time for the backs,” Sloane said.

“We really developed as a group, and it was exciting to see what you guys were getting up to on the field.

“Keeping teams as scoreless as possible is obviously the main idea, but also enjoying yourselves, working as a unit and developing every individual to be the best they can be.”

You can watch the full chat between Birch and Sloane below.