This article originally appeared on womens.afl.com.au

BEFORE her 16th birthday, Abbey Dowrick was one of the stars of the 2018 NAB AFLW Under-18 Championships.

Playing for Western Australia alongside older sister McKenzie, Dowrick was earmarked as one to watch for her draft year of 2020, having gone head-to-head in the midfield against the likes of Alyce Parker, Nina Morrison, Maddy Prespakis and Tyla Hanks.

But the 2020 NAB AFLW Draft passed, as did the 2021 edition, and Dowrick's name wasn't called.

Then Port Adelaide came along, list manager Naomi Maidment liking what she saw in Dowrick's four-match cameo with SANFLW side Woodville-West Torrens, and finally, the former prodigy was on an AFLW list.

It's safe to say Dowrick (who will be 20 in three weeks) made up for lost time in her AFLW debut, racking up an equal-game high 21 disposals, seven marks, six clearances and 416m gained against West Coast.

Alongside Essendon's Paige Scott, she was named the round one NAB AFLW Rising Star nominee.

So why the wait to see Dowrick at the top level?

"I put in for the draft in both years, 2020 and 2021. My first year, I'd lost the love of footy quite a lot. It was probably a good thing I wasn't picked up," Dowrick told womens.afl.

"And it was much of the same last year, I had re-found my love of footy, but not as much as I needed it to be able to play at this level.

"This year, I feel like I did when I was a kid, and it's panned out how I wanted to."

Meniscus clean outs on both knees for the bash-and-crash midfielder didn't help matters, and for Dowrick, footy arguably got too serious, too quickly.

"I played my first league game (for WAFLW side Subiaco) when I just turned 16, and I only played a few games because of that reason," Dowrick said.

"I just wanted to have fun and play with my mates while I could.

"I was still playing good footy, but I wasn't enjoying it. When I love it, I want to be at training, and I want to be improving every week and every training session.

"It's something I want to do for myself, not something I feel like I have to do to keep those around me happy – not that I ever have, but I felt that way at times."

Now well and truly settled in Adelaide – sister and Crows player McKenzie lives upstairs in the same apartment complex – Dowrick is thrilled that initial message to Woodville-West Torrens coach Narelle Smith paid off.

"My sister suggested it. I reached out to Narelle and asked if there was any chance I could play a few games to put my name out there, not really thinking anything would come of it," she said.

"But why not give it a shot? The worst that could have happened was nothing happening.

"I organised with Eagles to play three games, so I came over for two-and-a-half weeks, and I played those three games. Then a week or two later I came over to watch McKenzie's last AFLW game, and she somehow roped me into playing a fourth game, and that's when Port contacted me."

Port Adelaide will play its first AFLW home match this weekend, hosting the Western Bulldogs at Alberton.

Dowrick – who spends plenty of time at the club, also working in the Power's merchandise shop and chatting to the Port faithful who wander through – is well aware of the significance.

"Last week was pretty surreal, I suppose, there were a lot of surprises, and it's still sinking in, what happened," she said.

"But this week is going to be huge. All of us girls know how important this is, not just for fans but making ourselves proud by putting on a good show and playing the style of footy we want to play and know we can play.

"Just knowing how much footy means to Port fans and ourselves, hopefully we'll do ourselves proud."