ON FRIDAY night, Eliza McNamara will run out on to IKON Park for her first official AFLW match in more than 12 months.

During a meeting at training on Tuesday, McNamara’s parents joined the team to announce the exciting news that she would be making her return from a serious back injury sustained last year.

The announcement was met with an outpouring of joy-filled tears, from both the McNamaras and the wider football department.

An emotional outpouring worthy of the incredible journey that McNamara has been on this past year.

It began in July of 2022 when the then 20-year-old was completing a regular gym session alongside her teammates.

During a routine exercise – weighted barbell step-ups – a normally innocuous roll of the ankle, ended up resulting in the bar falling on to her back.

What played out in the months after the incident was a multitude of challenging hurdles for the young Demon.

She underwent major back surgery to fix fractures to her spine, she learned how to get her body moving again and began a diligent rehabilitation schedule that she never imagined having to complete. 

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The Long Road

With Season 8 fast approaching, we look back at Eliza McNamara's rehab journey.

“It was daunting at first, even after surgery we didn’t know what [the recovery] looked like, because it hasn’t really happened before, there’s no path,” McNamara told Melbourne Media.  

“With ACL injuries, it’s that 12 months of ticking boxes, where as this, what’s that journey like?”

As someone who had grown up as an extremely active individual, the new restrictions on movement were difficult to adjust to.  

“I’ve always used exercise as an outlet,” McNamara said.

 “And when you’re dealing with an injury like this, you need an outlet but then [exercising] is the one thing you can’t do."

Despite the frustrations, her teammates and coaches made sure to be there through every step of the journey, something McNamara said she was incredibly grateful for.

“The support of the club has been unbelievable,” McNamara said.

“The way the girls were so supportive and Mick giving me a role on game day so I could still be tightly connected to the group while they won the flag.

That really was a good motivator for me, that I was going to come back into the team, and still have that connection with them.”

So, as determined as ever, McNamara took on her new game day role (coordinating the phones on the bench) and quickly digested the steps needed to make a full return to football.

While it was a long and sometimes slow rehab timeline, there was one day in particular that she would remember most.

After months of wearing a bright pink bib, something that signalled ‘no contact’ on the track, the 21-year-old was free to tackle and be tackled, burning the bib in a celebration alongside her teammates.

“It was so exciting,” McNamara said.

“I was just so excited to rip in with the girls.

Having full sessions was a good benefit in the pre-season lead-up and it’s good because none of the girls went easy on me, which I was happy about that.”

Now, more than 400 days since the incident in the gym, McNamara will be going to battle with the Pies on Friday night to open the 2023 NAB AFLW Season.

A pretty impressive feat and one that has given her a new football focus, one of enjoyment and gratitude.

“I think I need to not think about it as a return match, because those thoughts are no good for my performance,” McNamara said.

I think I’ll just really focus on enjoying it and being grateful that I’m back out there with the girls rather than watching from the sidelines.”

Melbourne will face Collingwood on Friday 1 September, with the club’s full line-up to be announced tomorrow from 6:20pm.