"I get FOMO big time," Alice Mitchell admitted.
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FOMO?
"Fear of missing out," Mitchell explained.
The former Gunnedah Bulldog was beset by FOMO when the 2022 AFLW season started In August.
Sidelined while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL, Mitchell has been an at-times restless spectator as her winless, last-placed Sydney Swans negotiate their debut season.
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She injured her knee during preseason training ahead of the current season. But the Swans still selected her in the players' draft in June, a clear vote of confidence in the 180cm defender's long-term potential.
"Obviously the first couple of games were really hard to watch," Mitchell said of the Swans' inaugural season, "because obviously you want to be out there.
"It's just one of those things you get used to the more you watch it."
Being a spectator, Mitchell said, was "more motivating" in terms of her wanting "to try and get back out there with them".
The vivacious talent was speaking over the phone from Sydney, her hometown. She said her rehab was "going really well", and she hoped to be available for selection for round one of the 2023 season.
"They're really happy with how I'm progressing and how I'm recovering after my runs," she said. "So yeah, all good news - smooth sailing so far."
Mitchell said she was "very, very keen" to leave her mark on the AFLW.
"It is very big. It's very big," she said of the 2023 season. "I'm really looking forward to what's coming.
"I literally just have to watch one more game [the Swans' final match for 2022] and then I'm on par with everyone else [in the side] - looking forward to the next season."
In August, Mitchell celebrated her 21st birthday. Despite having endured her "fair share of meltdowns" over the incredibly bad timing of the knee injury, she is in a great headspace.
"I love living in Sydney," said Mitchell, who works remotely as a sales agent for Gunnedah-based Robertson Real Estate.
"I'm really enjoying being back here. I obviously miss Gunnedah, but loving being back here."
In 2020, Mitchell left Sydney and moved to Gunnedah - the hometown of her partner - after she lost her job because of the pandemic. She had worked as an an AFL coach at Pymble Ladies' College, where she went to school.
At Gunnedah, she rediscovered her love for AFL - leading the Bulldogs women to the 2020 premiership in their debut season.
In 2019, she trained with GWS's Winter Series squad - in the hope of earning a spot in the AFLW draft for the 2020 season. Stress fractures to both legs cruelled that ambition.
During the Women's Summer Series ahead of the 2022 AFLW season, Mitchell was a revelation playing for the Swans against the Giants. She said she approached the series with a "f**k it" mentality - and gave it everything she had.
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