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NEW HORIZONS<\/p>\nIt was a very 2026 way to find love. <\/p>\n
New Adelaide AFLW recruit Grace Egan was helping the Crows social media team with some content at Adelaide Oval when she asked a \u201cstranger\u201d who his favourite player was.<\/p>\n
His answer \u201cGrace Egan\u201d surprised both the footballer and thousands of people online.<\/p>\n
The video went viral and prompted a subsequent post by Egan to ask if anyone knows \u201cthis guy called Will\u201d.<\/p>\n
Both posts were viewed more than a million times as comments poured in about stranger \u201cWill\u201d and his heroic \u201cfeats\u201d such as saving a grandma from drowning or donating two kidneys to save someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
In what might disappoint many, Egan and Will had already met months prior to the viral video \u2013 at a Kyle Starkey gig at Hindley Street Music Hall.<\/p>\n
They stood next to each other at the gig, got talking and since then have pretty much been inseparable. <\/p>\n
So the start of their relationship wasn\u2019t a chance encounter filmed online, but there was still fate involved for her to attend the concert.<\/p>\n
She said meeting Will has helped strengthen her love for the city of Adelaide.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been great, he grew up in Adelaide,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a big family, his cousin is Jed McEntee who played for Port Adelaide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a big family back in Shepparton and it was probably the one thing I was worried about moving so far away because I am such a big family girl.<\/p>\n
\u2018THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED\u2019<\/p>\n
The last six months for Egan have been the \u201cbest six months I\u2019ve ever had\u201d but the previous 12 were the hardest, by some way.<\/p>\n
A sudden illness resulted in spending three weeks in two hospitals, losing 14 kilos while her then-teammates at Richmond began pre-season.<\/p>\n
Despite this setback, she not only played for the Tigers in 2025, but lined up in round one.<\/p>\n
But come the end of the season she was told by Richmond that she needed to find a new home.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly I think being able to reflect on my last year, I guess it has been huge,\u201d the 26-year-old said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been small milestones throughout this year where I am like \u2018this is what I was doing this time last year\u2019 or \u2018this time last year I was in hospital\u2019 or I wasn\u2019t even in pre-season.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd just to be on the track and on a new team, in a new environment and in a fresh space, I think it has been exactly what I needed and I\u2019ve been loving it.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE ILLNESS AND THE ROAD BACK<\/p>\n
Egan was helping younger sister Holly move to Western Australia to play for Fremantle last year when she was struck down with what she initially thought was food poisoning.<\/p>\n
She returned home and started to feel pain in her stomach. But it became quickly apparent that something was not right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a hole in my bowel, which then caused a flow-on effect from that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it stemmed from that and then I think I was just very unfortunate that in the hospital I was in I was misdiagnosed for a few days.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it led to being worse, a lot worse than it should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
A healthy 25-year-old, Egan should have been getting ready to prepare for pre-season with the Tigers.<\/p>\n
Instead she became bedridden and did not eat for days, with a PICC line put into her arm to make sure she would still get vital nutrients.<\/p>\n
Across two stints in hospital, and one explorative surgery, she lost 14kg, and was so sapped of energy that walking to the door of her hospital room was as much exercise as she could do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually didn\u2019t realise how sick I was at the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like you just go in full flight or fight mode and all I thought was I needed to come back and play footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
A return to footy, however, seemed a remote possibility.<\/p>\n
That was definitely the view of Richmond.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur club doctor had sat me down when I got out of hospital the first time and had the conversation with me about \u2018just letting you know like football probably isn\u2019t an option for you this year\u2019 and told me I wouldn\u2019t be playing,\u201d Egan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think if anything when she said that it kind of did the opposite in my mind, where I am like \u2018I\u2019ll prove you and everyone wrong\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact I got back and played football still blows my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the road back to footy was tough. <\/p>\n
Because she had lost so much weight, Egan was now under fuelled and would get so tired that she would nearly black out.<\/p>\n
Her immune system also needed to be built up again following the ordeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could only go to the club for about three or four hours and I would have to head home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo to think that from the first day of pre-season for me and in three months I was able to get back and then be physically able to be selected to play, it was huge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like sometimes you really don\u2019t get that credit when you work so hard for something like that, so I am lucky that I am surrounded by good people that constantly let me know that I was doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018THE HARDEST THING TO HEAR\u2019<\/p>\n
Egan played nine games for the Tigers last year, averaging 20 disposals, four tackles and three clearances for the season and had been named in the best players in five or their last seven matches.<\/p>\n
But on the same day she was named as the club\u2019s best player in their round 12 loss to Gold Coast, Egan was told she would not be offered a new contract by the Tigers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think at the time I had suspicions about maybe not getting a good contract, I don\u2019t think it was about not getting one at all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yeah it did come as a shock hearing that in my exit meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think the worst part was it was nothing to do with my football ability or how I train or me as a person, it was generally that the club was looking for something different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hadn\u2019t had success this year and I unfortunately fell in the basket of moving along and trying to find a new set-up in that midfield for Mon (Monique Conti) and Ellie (Ellie McKenzie) to be able to have a better two-way runner for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think I was unfortunate in having to cop the raw end on that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision by the Tigers shocked many in the league, and sparked a race among multiple teams for Egan\u2019s services.<\/p>\n
She said the interest from suitors helped her get over the shock and disappointment of the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hurts your ego a little bit or you feel a little bit embarrassed if anything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you kind of question yourself and your character but once a few weeks settled with that I had a few clubs reach out and started the process of finding somewhere else.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd having the conversations with other clubs and remembering that you are valued and this was a crazy decision by them and I am still a great football player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was probably when I was able to feel a lot better about it all, but at the time it was probably the hardest thing to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n
NEW HORIZONS<\/p>\n
When the Crows flew Egan over for the day to meet key figures at the club and her now teammates, she was quickly sold that Adelaide was the right place for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like where I am in my footy career now everything was based more around the team and who I wanted to be playing with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really didn\u2019t matter where that meant I was going to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a bonus that I ended up in Adelaide, which [has] the best weather and nice beaches. It isn\u2019t as busy as Sydney or Melbourne \u2026 a bit slower lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that wasn\u2019t what it came down to, I was honestly ready for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
On and off the field, Egan now prepares for a Crows debut in round one cheered on by her new family.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to \u2026 meet Will and then Will being able to provide me with that family environment for me in Adelaide I think it has helped me even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I have been able to find that stability in football and then living with Eb (Ebony Marinoff) and also having that feeling of family and support and people who want you to succeed as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon there is about 40 of them ready to come to round one \u2026 I have to let the girls know that I have a big crew coming and they are going to be on the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a very 2026 way to find love. 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