She knows the circumstances in Orange could be a lot worse than they are, but Tigers' AFL star Erin Naden is feeling pretty frustrated right now.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This is because the 20-year-old midfielder is supposed to be fine-tuning her game ahead of a significant switch to Sydney but is instead reeling after Central West AFL pulled the pin on its season two weeks ago.
Not only did this take away competitive play, but ridded Naden and her Tigers teammates of the opportunity to train as a team, something she'd kill to do right now.
"I try to get out and train on my own at least three times a week, but it won't help next season if I can't be upping my skill level now," she said.
Naden played multiple games with Sydney's East Coast Eagles throughout 2020, but plans to make a full-time move to the big smoke next year.
From there, the Indigenous star hopes to move up the ranks, with a berth in the AFL women's competition the best possible outcome.
There isn't a direct path from Eagles to the top grade, but if she plays well enough, someone will pick her up... she hopes.
Naden isn't only a standout for the Tigers, but has been part of back-to-back Bathurst St Pat's league tag titles, and is holding out hope she can shoot for a third with her blue and white teammates.
With Thursday's announcement indicating the state won't exit lockdown until a 70 per cent vaccination rate, it's up in the air as to whether Group 10 will be able to make a return in 2021.
The committee is set to have a meeting in the coming days but until then, all Naden can do is wait.
It's always interesting to know which sport a dual-code athlete prefers, and it wasn't easy for Naden to pick her favourite... but she did anyway.
"It's really hard, but I'd pick AFL just because that could be a potential career for me," she said.
"With tag, you can't really go much further after you play Rams."
"With AFL, I'm really happy I've signed with a Sydney team, but the next step would be to play in the AFL W."
To say Naden breathes sport would be an understatement as her day job is a development officer for AFL Central West, just another thing that's been put on hold throughout the pandemic.
"Luckily when I move to Sydney, I can just transfer and still keep working," she said.
"I miss that as well."
The Naden family name is closely associated with rugby league, but Erin and twin brother Callan have played Australian Rules since year 8.
"They picked me for an Indigenous team in high school and I've been playing ever since then."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.centralwesterndaily.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Catch up on our news headlines at Google News