Last year, six games into her AFLW career, Carlton's Mimi Hill lunged tenaciously into a tackle, and felt her knee jar horribly.
"I knew as soon as I did it, as soon as I went down; I've done my ACL," the 19-year-old told The W with Sharni and Sam podcast.
"No-one expects it to happen to them … sadly, it happens too often."
This AFLW season has seen a glut of ACL injuries, 11 of them so far; 11 players who are starting to limp down the same road to recovery Hill now has in her rear-view mirror.
Hill says she was well supported by her club during that process, but she knows other players who have sought — and even paid for — external care during their rehab.
'It's pretty dark over the winter period'
Hill's rehab started almost immediately after her injury.
"Because I did mine near the end of the season, in one way it was good because I didn't get as much FOMO [fear of missing out] by not playing," she says.
"But, then again, the season ends, and everyone goes off and does their own thing.
"But you're an athlete that still needs to be rehabbed, still needs all the support to get back to your best."
Prompt surgery was key to Hill getting off to a good start.
"I was fortunate to get surgery pretty quickly," she says.
"Whereas it was horrible to see the athletes this season, with all the COVID protocols, they couldn't get surgery for a little while.
"The next season comes around so quickly … they're going to miss quite a bit of footy, which I'd be pretty flat about."
The injury list was still a pretty lonely place to be.
"I was kind of just doing rehab by myself, which is pretty lonely," she says.
"It was pretty dark over the winter period, and we were also in lockdown."
Some AFLW players choose not to go through clubs
Hill says her club made sure her injury and rehab did not leave her out of pocket, but other players have not enjoyed the same support.
"Other AFLW players, they have actually outsourced, found someone themselves rather than going through the club because they wanted to get the best support for their knee and they didn't feel like they were getting that at their club," she says.
"And it's so hard because the staff are part-time, and we love our staff … but there's only so much they can do when they have their other job as well.
"So, yeah, I think players do find it's better if they just pay this extra money and go somewhere else to get the best rehab."
Season schedule 'frightening'
A number of AFLW teams have just run through a sudden gauntlet of games, making up for COVID-enforced postponements from earlier in the year.
Hill says the congested schedule has not helped players avoid injuries.
The season's early January start has also caused unease.
"A lot of us have had the conversation around that Christmas period break," she says.
"You want to get back and see your family, it's great, but the fact that some teams didn't even have a full training session before they played … that's just frightening.
"How are you expected to be prepared, for your body to be prepared for that?"
'There always is that fear'
The memory of a devastating ACL injury can often sit like a barb in the mind, long after the knee has healed, but Hill says that will not stop her.
Indeed, she earned a Rising Star nomination in her first game back this season.
"There always is that fear when you've done a ACL that it could happen again," she says.
"I just said, 'Look, if it happens again, it happens again.'
"But there is always that thought in the back of your head."
