Mia-Rae Clifford went through the whole spectrum of emotions on Sunday as she made her club debut in Fremantle’s 16-point win against Geelong at Fremantle Oval.
Pre-game, the thought of taking on her former Geelong teammates almost made her sick - and she described hearing the siren go at full time as one of the happiest moments in her life.
“I woke up this morning and I have never felt so sick before a game,” Clifford said.
“I’m always nervous before a game but I’ve never felt sick, I thought I was going to spew knowing I was coming up against some of my best mates.
“When I thought about suiting up in the purple and got it in my head, I couldn’t wait to get out there.
“It was a very surreal moment and I’m so grateful to be a part of that round one win. When that siren went, I’ve never felt so happy!”
The versatile position player won the Cats’ goal kicking in 2019 but she played primarily as a defender in her Freo debut.
With the wind playing a huge factor in the game, Clifford was key in helping Freo limit the damage when the Cats had the momentum.
“It was quite a potent wind and we held up really well as backs,” Clifford said
“We only leaked one or two goals when they had the wind so I think it was a really big factor in the mind of how we were going to play our match.
“Trent said it was going to be a fight all game and we backed our speed and our endurance and everything we’ve worked so hard for this pre-season.”
Fremantle now turn their focus to the first women’s RAC Derby, played at Optus Stadium on Saturday.
After relishing her first experience of playing in front of the Purple Army, Clifford said she couldn’t wait to see what the atmosphere would be like at Optus.
“It was a great crowd today! All of my family who came from Melbourne said it was amazing, they loved it and that the fans were great,” Clifford said.
“Next weekend, we’ll definitely need all of them out there. It’s a great feeling when you have people cheering on for you, so Purple Army, come in full force next weekend!”
