When her teammates and closest friends were embracing the exciting changes occurring in women's football, Jenna Bruton turned the other way.

Girls she had played alongside for years were becoming household names, getting drafted to AFL clubs and playing semi-professionally – things that Bruton grew up dreaming of.

But a tragic 12 months turned Bruton away from the game she had played since she was a seven-year- old.

In early 2016 Bruton's mother Suzy was diagnosed with brain cancer. Only a few months earlier her aunt was diagnosed with the same disease. Incredibly, the illness isn't genetic.

The 21-year- old was all but a certainty to be drafted to a Melbourne-based club in the 2016 Victorian draft. As a junior she had represented Victoria and had progressed through the pathways to play for the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne in the AFL's women's exhibition games.

A number of clubs were interested in adding the 159-centimetre midfielder to their lists last October. In fact, one club looked for her name on draft day wondering why she wasn't available. They thought she had already been selected.

However Bruton's mum's illness made her realise there was more to life than football.

"Last year I just lost interest in footy. With Mum being sick it just made me realise there are more important things in my life, like my family. Football became a game, I had lost the emotional connection I had with the sport. There was just too much going on," she says.

Bruton's mum Suzy was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma, or GBM, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

"Mum started getting headaches and her vision was going blurry. Initially she thought it was sinus so she just went to the local doctor. A few days later she ended up at Ballarat Hospital where she had an MRI. Not long after she was in the Royal Melbourne Hospital having a lesion removed. It was Christmas Eve," Bruton recalls.

What followed was months of chemotherapy and radiation where Bruton became her mother's carer. As well as caring for Suzy, Bruton worked on her family's property in Trentham, where they farm potatoes, sheep, cattle and hay. When needed, she'd drive her mother to the hospital for treatment.

"Mum's radiation went for six weeks at a time, five days a week. I'd wake up at seven in the morning, drive Mum down to Sunshine Hospital, spend an hour with her there and then drive back home. When I'd get back to the farm I'd find out what Dad was up to and start work. It was summer so we were farming hay until five at night. They were long days with lots of driving, but Mum's friends helped out when they could," says Bruton.

Though she still played Victorian Women's Football League for the St Kilda Sharks during 2016, Bruton had lost her passion for the game while she tried to deal with her mother's illness.

"I don't think she found it easy," explains her mother, Suzy.

"I mean it's not good to know your mum probably has a terminal illness. It turned our lives upside down and the things we took for granted were just gone."

Bruton knew all along that she wasn't going to nominate for last year's draft. However, watching her friends get picked by AFLW clubs, she did experience an element of regret.

"I did watch the draft to see where my friends would go. I sort of regretted not nominating, but I'm glad I didn't because I wouldn't have enjoyed it on top of everything else that was going on. My heart just wasn't in it. It was a bit sad watching the games as well. It would have been good to be out there," she says.

Suzy was one of the most upset when she found out her daughter wasn't applying for last year's draft.

"I was disappointed because of all the years driving her around the countryside to get her to football training," says Suzy. 

"But now in hindsight I realise she had a really tough 18 months. She had a lot going on."

This year Suzy's illness has become more stable and Bruton has been able to rekindle her love for football.

She has had a breakout season in the VFLW being selected in the league's team of the year and winning her club's best and fairest, polling more votes than current AFLW stars including Carlton's Brianna Davey and Collingwood's Jasmine Garner.

"I think the difference this year is that Mum's a bit better, which makes it easier to focus on footy. I've worked on my fitness and now I am enjoying it more," says Bruton.

Draft night for will be a nervous time for the quiet Bruton. It will also be a nervous time for Suzy.

"I'll go along, if she wants me there. She's a good kid and she deserves to be recognised. No matter what happens, I'm very proud of her and hope she does well."