From stress fracture to the States: Pain makes progress sweeter for Longhurst

It was 2019 and the rising star of both football and cricket was forced to hit the pause button due to a stress fracture in her back.

It's the type of injury which is difficult for anyone to deal with, but even more so when you're dealing with everything that comes with being 14-year-old at the same time.

"Mentally, it was tough at times being a young kid. I was a young girl growing up and football was just everything to me, and so was cricket," she said, looking back.

"It was the most fun I'd had. Then I had to take time off that and you just don't have an outlet for when you're growing up and you've got those teenage hormones you need to get out one way or another.

"It was quite mentally draining, having to sit on the sidelines and just watch other people do what you love the most."

But now, four years later, the duel-sport star sees it all "as a good learning curve".

After taking the time for her back to heal and then working hard to strengthen her body and fine-tune her movements, Longhurst was soon back doing what she loved.

She's stuck to the two sports and is now making real waves in both.

In early January the 18-year-old will travel to Newcastle as the youngest member of the NSW Country women's side which will contest the Australian Country Championships.

Then, once her cricket season is done, attention shifts back to football and what shapes as the trip of a lifetime.

In April, Longhurst will travel to America with the Australian All Schools girls team to compete at the Dallas Cup in Texas.

It's a long way from those times stuck on the sidelines as a 14-year-old and makes everything done in the years since worthwhile.

When Longhurst was in year nine she moved to Sydney to attend Presbyterian Ladies' College - largely for the chance to pursue her sporting dreams in the city - while there's been hours spent in rehab, training and travelling to various matches and carnivals.

"I still get niggles or smaller injuries here and there but it just reminds me it's only temporary and I'll be back into it sooner or later," Longhurst said of her past injury woes.

"I'm much more grateful for it and all the opportunities I get now."

The NSW Country cricket selection was one of the proudest moments of Longhurst's young career.

After the disappointment of missing out selection in the NSW Country under 19s side earlier this season, the open-age call-up was not something the Dubbo star had on her radar.

Longhurst doesn't expect to play a huge role at Newcastle, given her age, but she's eager to soak up the experience alongside some stars of country cricket.

The NSW side will be captained by Orange's Kira Churchland, who is Longhurst's captain at the Sydney Tigers and one of a number of people who've helped her rediscover her passion for the game.

"I honestly lost a love for it after I'd broken my back," Longhurst said of the sport.

"But once I got back into it and I found a club and friends doing it, I found a groove. I got more of a passion and I got back into it and remembered why I loved it.

"I'm proud of myself for getting back into it. It was a long process but it was all worth it.

"I think I'm still learning a lot in cricket, especially from what I had to catch up on after a year off."

While summer is all about cricket and the Tigers, winter means football with Sydney University.

As well as impressing with her club, Longhurst enjoyed great success in school competition in 2023.

After winning the golden boot as top goal-scorer at the Combined Independent Schools (CIS) carnival, Longhurst was initially named a shadow player for the NSW squad.

An injury meant she was called up to the state team and she made the chance count at nationals as she caught the eye and earned Australian All Schools selection.

"That was a massive shock to me and then having, I don't know, probably half of the new South Wales selected with me is great," she said.

"It's going to be a great time ... I'm just going over there with my head up and hoping for some opportunities and I'm honestly just excited to go over and play football."

Longhurst has just finished year 12 and the chance to play football in the United States could lead to interest from American colleges.

That will be the dream for many of the Australian players, but Longhurst is staying calm and just savouring the experience.

It's what she's done ever since her injury and what she'll continue to do until the day comes when she potentially has to focus on one sport.

"My mum has said to me 'you're probably going to have to choose one or the other at some point'," Longhurst said.

"And I thought that was the go with when I broke my back and thought I'd just take a year off cricket and I'd be fine and I probably wouldn't get back into it.

"But then I eventually did and I'm enjoying both at the moment. I think I'm just going to take it all as it comes."