Moana Hope has nominated for the AFLW draft in the hopes to resurrect her football career.
Hope was delisted by North Melbourne at the end of the 2019 AFLW season after spending her first two seasons with Collingwood as a marquee player.
The 31-year old has admitted that being delisted by the Roos was “a shock”, but is hopeful of being picked up in the national draft to reinvigorate her career.
“I actually haven’t thought about footy for a couple of months, which has been so nice for me. So refreshing,” Hope said on ABC.
“For me, I’m in the draft which is coming up. I’ve nominated for the draft.
“I just want to play footy and I want footy to be fun. I want it — especially AFLW — to keep growing so little girls can eventually one day play that full-time.
“I also want to play footy and enjoy it.”
A host of AFLW players recently voted against the collective bargaining agreement that was offered by the league, with conversations ongoing between the players’ association and the playing group regarding their concerns.
The considered idea of a short AFLW season to Hope would be “absurd”.
“I would hope for quite a few things (from AFLW going forward) — I’m quite an open book when it comes to footy,” she said.
“There’s things that happen and that are being talked about that I don’t want to happen, like rule changes … you don’t want to train for six months just to play seven games. It’s absurd. “Especially me — I work full-time, train before work, train after work, just to play seven games. It doesn’t make sense.
“The pay … not that we’re playing for money, but somehow you’ve got to be compensated for what you do."