Fermanagh forward, Bláithín Bogue is not looking too far ahead despite recently signing a two-year contract with AFLW side North Melbourne Kangaroos.
For the time being she is intent on finishing her Pharmacy Pre-Reg year and trying to win some silverware with Fermanagh before she jets off to Oz.
But she is very aware of the opportunity she has been given as she will be only the second Fermanagh player to test herself in the AFLW, following in the footsteps of Fermanagh teammate, Joanne Doonan.
Doonan had two stints with Carlton and Essendon before returning to Irish shores.
"It’s a good opportunity and I think it's good for the likes of me and Joanne from lesser known counties for our football to get noticed and there's definitely a lot of other girls on our team that could show their hand in it but it's about getting the platform," said Bogue who added that she was grateful to North Melbourne for giving her the opportunity.
Bogue's signing was announced last week by the AFLW team but it has been something she has been interested in for a while.
Bogue will become the fourth Irish player to join last year's beaten finalist along with Vikki Wall, Erika O'Shea and Niamh Martin.
The side said the 23-year-old has "strong athletic traits that will translate well to AFLW and stood out across her performances for Fermanagh, with her ability to set up play in the forward half and consistently hit the scoreboard".
Bogue revealed she was initially approached following Fermanagh's defeat in the All-Ireland Junior Championship final two years ago about by an AFLW talent scout in Ireland.
"He texted me and asked me if would I be interested and I said I would in the future but I wanted to concentrate on finishing my degree.
"Last year after we got beat by Limerick in the semi-final he texted me if was I still interested. I said I was so he started going to clubs."
Bogue had to put together a highlights video for clubs to look at it paid off with a two-year contract in the bag.
In the last few weeks, she has been on calls with North Melbourne and she does expect to be on weekly calls with them to grow her knowledge of the game.
Bláithín Bogue becomes a Roo 🇮🇪
— North Melbourne Women's (@NMFCWomens) February 29, 2024
We've signed the 23-year-old from @FermanaghGAA to our final list spot for the 2024 @aflwomens season.
(It's Bla-heen, just to get that out of the way 😉)#Kangas
"They said from looking at my highlights they would like me to play a forward role but they are not going to limit me to that. They want to try me in different positions.
"I'll be having Zoom calls with them every week just to let me know about set plays and even just learning the games a wee bit more."
But while this will be done remotely, there will be some help closer to home: "Joanne, she's told me she will coach me up too which is handy. She has done it a couple of years so she will know all about it."
Last Sunday, Bogue got to meet her North Melbourne coach, Darren Crocker, who visited Tempo while in Ireland. She got her hands on a club jersey as well as an Aussie Rules football which will be constant reminders of the journey she will begin later this year.
But for the time being, Bogue is not trying to get too caught up with it.
Fermanagh and Pharmacy are taking a front seat.
"They knew I had to finish my Pharmacy year. I'm in my Pre-Reg year and it doesn’t finish until the middle of July so they knew I had to finish so that. They were looking me out after that.
"Hopefully if we get to an All-Ireland [Final] I'll be going out a few days after that at the start of August.
"I wouldn’t want to leave Fermanagh especially if we only had a couple of weeks left of the season and they understood [that].
"I'm really excited and I think closer to the time I'll be getting more excited but at the minute I have a portfolio to finish for Pre-Reg and an exam to sit and obviously I want to put my focus on that and Fermanagh.
"So, I'm putting kind of putting it to the back of my mind until closer to the time," concluded Bogue.
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