Former WNBL basketballer Olivia Levicki (née Thompson) is set to switch codes, signing a rookie contract with Port Adelaide for season seven of NAB AFLW.
Standing at 188 centimetres tall, Levicki will bring welcome height to the side and is set to work intensely with coaches to hone her ruck craft.
The 29-year-old’s move is driven by seeking a change, after feeling she has achieved all she can in her current sport.
“Taking on footy is the new challenge I feel like I’m needing now,” Levicki said.
“I have achieved what I can in basketball and I am really proud of that. I have thoroughly enjoyed my basketball journey. To now have the opportunity to play in the national league doing something completely different is really exciting and appealing to me.”
As a country kid growing up on her family’s farm in Balaklava, Levicki quickly developed a love for sport.
“Living in the country, it was always weekends full of sport and I used to kick the footy a lot with the boys,” she said.
“I’ve loved sport since I was a young girl and I always had a basketball or a football in my hand.”
After playing basketball at the Australian Institute of Sport for three years, Levicki was elevated to the WNBL by the Townsville Fire in 2012.
She went on to be contracted by the Melbourne Boomers and finished her national league career in the 2017/18 season with the Perth Lynx.
On ANZAC Day, Levicki was playing basketball for South Adelaide when she was spotted by new teammate Erin Phillips.
“A few weeks after that game, Erin reached out to me on Instagram and asked If I was interested in trying football,” Levicki recalled.
“I was like ‘oh my god, I did not expect that!’ I got offered an amazing opportunity and it was kind of out of the blue, but I knew I would look back and wonder ‘what if?’, if I didn’t take it. The last few weeks have been a complete whirlwind.”
Port Adelaide head coach Lauren Arnell soon invited Levicki to Alberton to be put through her paces. The process was not dissimilar to the first season of AFLW, where female athletes were invited from all codes to show their skills.
“I’ve done a few sessions with Lauren and she knows I’m really excited and committed to this opportunity,” Levicki said.
“Lauren’s biggest priority for this team is about getting the culture right and making it feel like a family here, so that has been a real draw for me. I’ve also grown up as a Port supporter – my whole family are Port supporters!”
Arnell sees obvious football potential in Levicki and is confident she will fit in well at the club.
“Olivia is an established professional athlete and a down-to-earth person” Arnell said.
“We have had the opportunity to work with Liv to see what she can offer. We are really excited about what she can bring to our program as an experienced athlete who has been kicking a footy since a very young age.”
“We can already see her natural competitiveness coming through and her capacity to learn the game quickly is evident.”
