Putting in the hard yards

If you watched Bunbury play in the SWFL women’s competition this season, you would have seen Ruby Mahony dominating in the middle of the ground.

A tremendous athlete who has worked hard on her skills, Mahony’s aerobic capacity has been a welcome addition to the Bulldogs’ line up.

“I cracked down a lot more this season,” she said.

“I knew what I was getting into coming out of 2018 and I just wanted to build as a player. So I started to do a lot more long distance running.

“Going to the gym a lot also helped in between running and training. But having said that, I have always always ran though – even when I was younger, I would wake up and go for a run with my dad before school.

“Running is something which I use as an outlet to enjoy myself.”

Following a watershed season for the Bulldogs, Mahony finished third in the 2019 Nola Marino Medal count behind joint winners Ebony Bilcich and Fleur Parker, along with taking out the club’s best and fairest award.

But both honours took the modest onballer by surprise, who purely attended each event to spend time with her teammates.

“I love all of the girls at the club,” she said.

“I have learnt everything from my captain Carly Allen and my coach Jon Farr. It was pretty much just to celebrate the end of the season.

“Even though we did not win the grand final, it was still a good end to the season. I did not expect to win our best and fairest.”

Mahony is completing her certificate IV in fitness online and taking up an opportunity to take her football further in future seasons is not out of the question.

“I will just see how it goes,” she said.

“I am not really pushing for anything but if the opportunity comes up ... I am always looking to improve on the way I play footy, along with my skills.”

Although the Bulldogs fell short in the 2019 grand final against the South Bunbury, Mahony believes competitiveness across the league is good for women’s football.

“There is a lot more competition for us as a team as well,” she said.

“Playing South, they had a lot of good players who are skilled so it was good to go against them because it builds up your skills.”