Courtney Cramey transforms into Demons livewire
Courtney Cramey has been at the epicentre of women’s footy in South Australia for the past five years, and the 29 year old Demons midfielder is showing no signs of slowing down yet.
Pick 32 in this years draft, Cramey has gone from strength to strength since a concerted effort to raise her professionalism, and the development she has shown despite the lack of high level talent in South Australia is quite remarkable.
With a raking kick and bullish presence at the contest, Cramey is an eye-catching midfielder who can often be seen bursting through packs; continually driving her side forward.
This isn’t what stands out about Courtney Cramey though, no- it is the 8kg weight loss and significant muscle gain that has turned this rough diamond into a shining star.
“Being exposed to a professional environment made me realise if I wanted to be exposed to these opportunities, I’d have to get fitter,” Cramey said, as she explained her primary motivation.
It speaks volumes about the attitude of the veteran to push herself to new heights despite all that she has already achieved in the game.
All-Australian. High Performance Academy member. Three time South Australian captain. Veteran of three National Championships as a player and two as a Youth Girls coach. Premiership winning captain.
She’s done it all, and she still isn’t satisfied- the will of Cramey to rise and grind every morning at 5.30 to ensure she is in the best shape possible to be an AFL footballer makes her the perfect role model for budding footballers, according long-time team-mate at club and state level; Angela Moritz.
“The old saying that she leaves from the front is definitely true…and the effect that she has on the younger talent in SA as a role model is instantaneous. They now play footy dreaming of AFL and know it’s possible if you work hard [like Courtney],” says Moritz.
Many say leaders are born, not made- but it is the ones that tick both boxes that get the most respect from their peers and Cramey has continued to advance her already evident leadership qualities as she dedicates herself to her footy.
“The more she has devoted herself to the tag of being an elite athlete, the more she’s established her standing as a leader,” says Narelle Smith- the defence coach for the Demons and Head Coach of SA.
While Cramey admits leadership is something inherent in her personality, both in footy and in her role as a Manager in an occupational sense, her whole lifestyle has changed over the past year- and the elite standards she is setting for herself are taking her to another level.
This doesn’t just include sweating it out in the weekly boxing or running sessions, or back-breaking strength workouts- Cramey ensures she stays in touch with the stronger footy states by training with the local men once a week.
Not only has this ensured she retains, and advances, her quality as a ‘draftable’ player; it’s given her game a more balanced look- and Cramey is now a skipper who can influence a match from any position on a football field.
“As a player she is now so versatile, having originally played more as a power forward, her work-rate and fitness now mean she plays through the middle. Not only that, she can also succeed across half-back and has an impact playing all three lines at both club and state level,” Moritz explains.
She certainly did at a State game against the Northern Territory earlier in the year, with a heavily tagged Cramey moved onto the half-back line by coach Smith- and the captain responded with a performance of the highest order.
Player of the Match honours followed, and the way Cramey led from the front despite playing a different role, could well have been the factor that ensured she stepped up to the main Demons list this year after being an emergency in 2014.
With the Inaugural Draft game in 2013 being spent in a Doggies jersey, at a less effective playing weight and 2014 watching on from the sidelines in training gear- you can bet your bottom dollar that in the upcoming second 2015 game you are going to see some eye-catching play from this firecracker.
Keep your eye on this girl in the red and the blue.
