Jess Moore caps meteoric rise with GFLW medal

Mines Rovers midfielder Jess Moore credits a dominant season in the Goldfields Football League’s women’s competition to strong competitive instincts and a big focus on physical fitness.

In a remarkable debut spanning just 10 games with the Diorites, Moore, 29, on Saturday night was crowned the GFLW’s fairest-and-best player.

Apart from supporting the Fremantle Dockers in the AFL, Moore until this year had no formal training or involvement in football.

But as a former Australian motocross champion, Moore was always in top physical condition.

It is a trait she has carried over to wear down GFLW rivals this season.

“I had no background in football whatsoever, especially being one of three girls and with no other siblings playing while I was growing up,” she said.

“I’ve always loved all sports and grew up watching the footy and barracking for Freo.

“I kicked a footy around at school, but nothing more.

“If anything, outside of motocross, the only other sports I played were cricket and soccer but that (fitness) crossed over from motocross.

“You need to be extremely fit to ride motocross and throughout my career I always prided myself on being one of the fittest.”

Moore has complemented those attributes with impressive disposal.

““I didn’t know anything about the precise skills needed at the first couple of preseason sessions,” she said.

“But our coach Pat Casey guided me along and I think I’ve picked things up reasonably quickly.

“It’s been a big learning experience and I really don’t mind the physical side of things.

“When you’re focused on the ball, for me it’s keeping my head down and getting in and getting out as fast as I can.

“I’m happy to take a bump along the way.”

Ahead of Saturday’s second semifinal against Kalgoorlie, Moore was unfazed on the prospect of drawing an opposition tagger.

“A few teams have tried that already and I try not to let it affect me too much,” she said.

“I keep my head down, back my own game and my fitness and basically try to outlast any other (rival) players.

“Our skills have come a long way and starting to look like some really good football, but Kalgoorlie have been the benchmark all year.

“They have a really good group of girls, so we need to back ourselves, put the hard work in and see what we can achieve.”