2024 has been a bittersweet year for Port Adelaide captain Janelle Cuthbertson.

While she is immensely proud of her side for making and winning its first AFLW final, the experienced defender has spent most of the year on the sidelines following a serious knee injury suffered in the week two win over the Western Bulldogs.

Cuthbertson was present with former Port Adelaide captain Erin Phillips and Adelaide player Niamh Kelly at Grange Primary School as the 2024 NAB AFLW Premiership Cup Tour got underway on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference following the event, Cuthbertson outlined the range of emotions she has experienced during the season, her pride and confidence in the way her side has been performing, and her feelings on a potential Showdown Grand Final.

Janelle Cuthbertson on rehabilitating a long-term knee injury while her side is performing so well:

“I'm not going to shy away from the facts, it’s been incredibly different, difficult and come with a fair few challenges. Every day brings a flow of emotions, both good and bad, but at the same time, it's given me a lot of perspective. To be able to step back and to lead the group from the sidelines, you really get a different view. You're not in and amongst it on out there on game day so I guess hopefully in 5-10, years’ time, I'll be able to look back at this and really connect the dots and learn again and be a better person for it.

“At the same time, I'm just immensely proud of this group and cannot bring the smile away from my face after game day, watching how much it means to the group, and knowing how much the group is putting into the work to get us here. And that's not just this season. That's the years gone past and where we are today is as much attributed to Erin (Phillips) and her leadership in the last couple of years, because we've been building over the last couple of years. Watching the thirst and the desire for this group to want to get better, and then the understanding of what it takes, I saw that throughout the off-season, and just how they put their heads down and really got to work.

“So as much as it's been challenging, I'll keep working through my rehab and just keep taking that perspective and keep learning from it, and hopefully come back bigger and better next year.”

Janelle Cuthbertson on the mental challenges of her rehabilitation:

“I'm not gonna say it's been easy. I have to, you know, really find the balance. A lesson I learned pretty quickly was to put my oxygen mask on first. But I try and help others, and if I can't lead myself, I can't lead my team. So that's something I've had to become aware of and making sure I'm finding that balance of doing the right thing for myself, but also being able to turn up for the group and be there and be that support.

“It's just understanding what that looks like in a leadership capacity and meeting the group where they are, and meeting the individuals where they are and trying to take them to where they want to be. And that changes every single day so it takes a significant amount of effort, which can be exhausting at times, but like I said before, it's just coming back to my purpose and why I'm here, and the broader vision, which is these girls in this club.”

Janelle Cuthbertson on how the side is approaching Saturday night’s Semi Final:

“We know the Hawks are going to be a really big test. I guess the way that we're approaching it this week is business as usual. So we're sticking back to our process, sticking to our game plan. We don't want to make it necessarily bigger than what it is. We're on a seven-game winning streak, so we want to stick to we know has worked for us in these last couple of weeks, and that's essentially coming back to our process and what we know. We're not going to change anything this week. We'll stick to our normal routine, our normal training as per usual, and then we head over to Melbourne on Friday and get a captain’s run in.”

Janelle Cuthbertson on how the group will go in front of a parochial Hawthorn crowd on Saturday night:

“To be honest, I haven't put a lot of thought into it just yet, like we're so incredibly lucky, obviously, with our home crowd here at Alberton, and it feels like we're really developing a bit of a fortress here. We love our fans and we're pretty aware that we'll go over there and we're going to have a very Victorian-centric crowd. I think for us, it's just taking in the moment when you get out there on the field and soaking it in, and then once that ball goes down, it's just about bringing yourself into the game and trying not to worry about those external factors too much. That's come with our maturity in our group and just working out individually your own mindset and how to adapt. And you know, we'll work with the girls individually as how they approach that as they need, but I’m really confident they'll be able to handle it.”

Janelle Cuthbertson on the prospect of a potential Showdown Grand Final:

“Internally, we're not looking too far ahead. It's cliche, but it is one week at a time. I guess for me, removing myself from being in (the playing team), the prospect of a South Australian grand final is huge, and what it could do for the state would be massive. If both teams make it there, that would be huge. But, for us, obviously it's just one week at a time.”