LAYING in bed on Thursday morning after hearing her name called out the night before in the AFLW Draft, Paige Scott had one thought race through her head.
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In a whirlwind draft night, Scott was touted as a player likely to be drafted in the 30s, but was shocked when the Bombers - one of the four expansion clubs - used just their second selection of the night to secure her at pick eight.
"It's sort of dawned on me, I'm just the second player ever drafted to Essendon," she said. "It's crazy to think but I'm kind of a pioneer. But I'm stoked, it's an unreal feeling, I can't believe it.
"When they called me, they said 'well done, we're really excited to have you, you've put in the work' and then about 20 minutes later, I got a FaceTime and it was Maddy Prespakis - she's one of my favourite players - and all of a sudden it sunk in that I'm going to be playing with her.
"Others from Essendon gave me a ring as well. I go down there tonight (Thursday) and get some merch, meet them all, look at the set-up, but the first training is 7.30am on Saturday morning."
A lifelong Collingwood fan, but from a family of both Magpies and Bombers fans, Scott said she was thrilled to be heading to Essendon as one of its first ever AFLW players.
"I'm not sure how Anzac Day next year will go," she joked. "Half the family is Collingwood and the other half is Essendon; there were probably more Essendon supporters here watching it than Collingwood to be honest.
"I had no idea I'd go that early, wasn't expecting that for sure, especially when I wasn't invited down for the night, all the other girls were there. I'm thinking 'there's no way I'm in round one', so when they called out number eight, I was like 'woah', I was rapt."
Having left school at the end of last season, Scott has been managing a farm at Avoca while playing football.
"I'm managing the farm I'm at, I was actually doing it at 17," she said. "I'm definitely going to have to move I think, it's a decent way away, Ballarat's only an hour away, so that might be the base, I'm not sure yet.
"I've only ever really lived in a paddock with some cows and sheep around me. I remember going down to Melbourne for the state side, the first time I was gobsmacked, they all thought I was a tourist taking photos and just looking at everyone, I couldn't believe how many people there were."
Scott was the only GWV Rebels player picked up on the night and admitted it was a bitter-sweet feeling knowing so many deserving teammates had missed out.
"I must admit I muted the draft after my selection, but I was asking a couple of girls here watching it to check if any of the other Rebels girls got picked up and they said 'no'," she said.
"It was like 'you've got to be joking', it's a bitter-sweet moment. You've got to be grateful for your own chances, but it's upsetting to know others miss out.
"You can go back to the NAB League as a 19-year-old which is the best option for a lot of them. I was always saying that if I didn't get drafted, you can play VFL, there's always the examples of Mia Skinner who's been playing VFL a couple of years and just been picked up by Geelong."
She said the Rebels had been "a second family" to her.
"When we got to the last game this year, I was tearing up a bit because I knew it was the end, it was my last game for the Rebels," she said.
"They've prepared me for this moment and I wouldn't be where I am now without them. They are some great people and I'm going to miss them."
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