The lowest moment of Jenna Bruton's outstanding AFLW career is a potent reminder as North Melbourne reach the business end of their three-peat campaign.
Bruton will play her 100th match in Saturday's qualifying final against Carlton. She has been a mainstay of North's two premierships and their record 32-game winning streak, which ended in September with the loss to Hawthorn.
The last defeat before that historic streak was the 2023 grand final against the Brisbane Lions. Bruton went down with a partial Achilles rupture in the first few minutes of the game and was sidelined for months.
Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker said what happened to Bruton, and how deeply it affected some teammates, was brought up in a team meeting this week ahead of the finals.
"You don't realise until you speak about it openly, how emotionally it affected some players more than others," Crocker said on Friday.
"But the group spoke openly yesterday about the ability to be able to acknowledge the disappointment for a teammate who's gone down with a ruptured Achilles ... but then also the ability to quickly move on and bring yourself back to the present.
"It's the ability to be able to delve into a few of those situations, having had those experiences, and be really well prepared."
Bruton is one of the AFLW's lower-profile players and a much-loved figure at Arden St. Crocker paid tribute to her "enormous" milestone as she becomes the latest women's player to reach three figures.
"I love coaching Jenna, because she's such an uncomplicated person. It's a little bit - I don't like to stereotype - but country girl, off the spud farm, comes in, gets the work done, just loves being around the place," he said.
"She doesn't say a lot - it's like pulling teeth trying to get anything out of her. But everyone loves Jenna off the field as well."
The Hawthorn loss was one of several challenges for the two-time defending premiers this season and Crocker said their resilience has been tested.
He also noted there is a "nice calmness" among his experienced team as they try to pull off the AFLW's first three-peat.
"We've been the hunted for the last three years. So I find that when teams are getting themselves up regularly to play against us, it prepares us well for this time of year - when everything goes up a notch and the heat comes on," Crocker said.
