When Alex Quigley walks into training at The Hangar she passes rows of premiership cups, framed team photos and embossed memorabilia and breathes the history in deeply. As a lifelong Bombers supporter, the VFLW forward still can’t believe that she has found a home at Essendon.

“It sends tingles down my spine sometimes that I am actually playing for them,” Quigley said.

“Essendon has been amazing in the way they have included us and made us feel like we truly belong.”

It wasn’t so long ago that Quigley was in her backyard, number 18 emblazoned on the back of her Essendon guernsey, tossing grass into the air as she went back for a set shot in homage to the great Matthew Lloyd.

Now the former VU Western Spurs player will be looking to set her own legacy at Essendon in the inaugural VFL Women’s side.

“I got a phone call from [coach Brendan] Major asking me to come down and could not turn down the opportunity to don the sash and train and play in the first women’s Essendon team. It’s really a childhood dream come true.”

Quigley has packed a lot of hardship into her career. A mass player exodus at the end of the 2012 season tore the heart out of the Spurs (then known as St Albans) and they won just five games in the next three seasons.

It became standard for Quigley’s teammates to run out onto the field with a heavy loss a foregone conclusion, or even to know that the opposition felt sorry for them.

These formative dark days proved the making, rather than the breaking, of the forward. In 2016, Quigley was the Spurs’ highest goal-scorer with 25 majors including a match-winning five-goal haul against Diamond Creek.

Now, she finds herself wearing the same colours as many of the players against whom she once played.

“I’ve played quite a lot against the likes of LJ Morecroft and have directly matched up on her and we have had some great battles of the past few years,” the 21-year old said.

“I have loved being on her team this season, she is so full of knowledge and is so nurturing towards all the girls and is a real leader at the club.

“Also the likes of Kendra [Heil], Trendy [Jess Trend] and Kirby [Hicks] and how elite they train even when injured. It has really pushed me to be better and work harder.”

The VFLW Bombers’ inaugural match will take place on Sunday, May 6 against Hawthorn at Windy Hill with free entry for all fans.

You can buy your VFLW membership HERE, or add it onto your current Essendon membership HERE.