Campbell trades AFLW for virus front lineRichmond's Grace Campbell has swapped her AFLW jumper for a nurse's outfit amid the coronavirus.
By Anna Harrington, AAP - 1 day ago
Grace Campbell hasn't had much time to process her debut AFLW season.
Days after Richmond's first season was brought to an abrupt end, Campbell was back working as a nurse - trading in laps of Punt Road Oval for rounds at Bendigo Health.
"We were meant to be playing the Friday night game against Brisbane and you prepare as if you will be playing because at that stage we just didn't know - and then we received the news," Campbell told AAP.
"We weren't at training because it was our off night but obviously we were all very devastated that the season had come to an end, especially as we thought 'we've got two more opportunities to put forward our best footy' but we didn't get that which was unfortunate.
"But given the circumstances it had to happen and it was just the reality of what was going on in Australia and sport comes second to peoples' health."
A casual worker, Campbell has been working full-time hours and some double shifts amid the strain in resources due to the coronavirus crisis and is split across the emergency department, intensive care unit and COVID-19 clinic.
Meanwhile, Campbell's mum and sister are also nurses, her dad works at a supermarket and her partner is a policeman - all considered essential workers.
"It definitely has been busy. It's starting to quiet down now but last week we were doing numbers up around 90-100 swabs a day," Campbell said.
"It's decreased significantly since then which hopefully means that the strategies the government has put in place are working.
"It's obviously scary times for a lot of people waiting for their results and things like that but we're just hoping to keep the community as safe as we can."
While some AFLW players have thrown themselves into fitness programs, Campbell has relished a break after an injury-affected season, limited to weights and some light training with her two sisters who play local footy.
And despite being a long way from Tigerland, the 24-year-old has felt the support of her club and teammates from afar.
"They've been fantastic. They're well aware of my workload at the moment and how much it's increased," Campbell said.
"They've all been sending messages of their support and just hoping that I'm doing well and a few of the girls have offered to buy me coffees and stuff.
"So they've all been lovely and I think they're quite aware of how tough it is at the moment - they've been awesome."
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/584576/campbell-trades-aflw-for-virus-front-line
