By Phoebe McWilliams, Geelong Football Club
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Julia Crockett-Grills is Geelong Cats’ women's loveable larrikin.
The 25-year-old is a unique character with a number of quirky traits that truly make her one of a kind.
Here are three of them.
Firstly, her surname.
The hyphenated surname Crockett-Grills is often a talking point.
One commentator loved saying it so much that Crockett-Grills got more mentions than she got touches.
Another incorrectly pronounced it Crocketts-Grill for an entire match.
It’s not just among the media that her name attracts attention.
Among the playing group, Crockett-Grills goes by a multitude of nicknames.
“I’ve got Jules, Julie, Croc, Crockett-Thrills, Jutty and Jutz,” Crockett-Grills said.
“No-one calls me Julia.
“At footy no-one would actually know my name to be honest.”
Secondly is her love of the animal, the crocodile.
Last season Crockett-Grills Super Glued a crocodile to her playing boots.
She refuses to get a new pair.
“I didn’t get a new pair of boots for the whole season because I didn’t want to take it off,” she said.
“I’ve always loved crocodiles and then my dad’s nickname’s ‘Croc’, so it’s just kind of stuck from there really.
“They’re fascinating creatures.”
Last, but not least, Crockett-Grills is known for her sense of humour.
The midfielder is often found telling dad jokes during the team’s warm-up.
“It can’t be all serious and I think when everyone’s laughing you’re going to get the best out of yourself really,” she said.
“It’s important to keep footy happy and vibrant.”
All jokes aside, Crockett-Grills had an outstanding season.
This year her disposal average jumped by six, she kicked two exceptional goals including a Goal of the Year contender and she had a career-high 22 disposals in Round 1 against Fremantle in a best-on-ground performance.
Crockett-Grills’ increase in output was not an accident.
Returning for her second pre-season Crockett-Grills was determined to improve her fitness.
“At the end of last season my fitness was not where it was supposed to be if I wanted to be a midfielder, I was told.
“I thought to myself, ‘I’m playing with a team of young gun midfielders who are amazing at what they do, if I can improve on anything I could get much fitter'.
“So I used that as a driver to get fit.”
And it worked.
This season Crockett-Grills became known as one of the team’s best two-way runners and was often singled out at player meetings for her outstanding work rate.
Her improvement was not only noticed among her teammates, AFLW reporter Sarah Black labelled her as the team's “Unsung Hero”.
Compared to her higher-profiled midfield counterparts Crockett-Grills often flies under the radar, something that she says she is happy with.
“I don’t think I mean to fly under the radar,” she said.
“I think there’s obviously a lot of talent in our team and lots of young guns.
“I just like to do my thing.
“I’ve always been a bit of a quiet achiever and I’m pretty happy to be that, I don’t like being in the limelight.”
Crockett-Grills is more focused on team success.
“I’m very team-oriented, I want us to achieve as a team,” she said.
“I want us to do well because the enjoyment you get from your teammates when you win flags is pretty cool.”
“Crockett-Grills — AFLW premiership player” has a nice ring to it.