TWINS Lucy and Steph Wales last stood opposite each other on a footy field in August of 2022.

It was their first ever AFLW game, and the sisters were raw ruck prospects, freshly drafted to Hawthorn and Essendon, respectively.

Held at Marvel Stadium, it was also the first AFLW match for the Hawks and Bombers, and it's safe to say the whole experience was a little overwhelming for the girls.

Now poised to face each other in the centre for the first time since that monumental match, they have become senior faces within the AFLW system, strong athletes, dependable teammates who quietly and effectively go about their business, and in the case of Lucy, potentially in line for a maiden All-Australian nod.

But life has been far from straightforward since that night in 2022.

Steph tore her ACL, Lucy had a major health scare when a case of appendicitis led to two bouts of bowel surgery, while their younger brother Cam is now living with partial quadriplegia after a tragic accident overseas.

Through it all, the family has tackled everything with a quiet smile, determination and hours upon hours of dedication and hard work.

Lucy and Steph had bypassed the traditional football talent pathway, with most of their energy going to basketball while they played some local footy with the Oakleigh Dragons (not the Chargers) on the side with their mates.

They played one season at Casey Demons in the VFLW after they turned 18, and with then-coach Peter Mercoulia (now an assistant at the Western Bulldogs) in their ear, nominated for the draft.

"I think we were both running around like headless chooks, and had no idea what we were doing football-wise, so it meant we didn't really put any time into each other at all," Lucy said of that first AFLW match.

"We were just figuring out where to run on the ground and how to best play for our teams. To think that all came together at once and we were able to debut at Marvel against each other, we didn't realise how special that was."

Steph – who is in the final stages of her masters of teaching – said the pair are now a world away from the inexperienced duo of 2022.

"In general, my knowledge of the game and my knowledge of my role and my confidence in the fact I can play that for my team, week in, week out," she said.

"For my 50th [game] last week, they showed some videos from when I first started, and I was a genuine twig, don't know how I held any kind of strength. Having a gym program has helped me so much in being able to match it at AFLW level."

Steph is now living with teammates Mia Busch and Grace Belloni close to Essendon's training base, and has been dubbed the "Dad" of that particular household – the drive across town from the family home in Mount Waverley was getting tiresome – but Lucy saw firsthand the amount of work her sister put into her ACL rehab.

The Bomber suffered her knee injury in October 2024, and made a remarkable comeback to return 10 months later, two months ahead of schedule for a traditional ACL rehabilitation.

"I just set my mind to it. Lucy went on a Euro trip in January that I was meant to go on. I pulled the pin on that one like a week after I did my knee," Steph said.

"If it was going to push me back by even two weeks, it wasn't going to be worth it, and I wasn't going to enjoy the trip worrying about my knee. I really applied myself – I really tried to hit each marker early, but didn't try to get stuck and make rehab my entire world. Our physios are awesome."

With Steph out of the rehab ward and back playing in late August, a month later, it was Lucy's turn to hit a sizeable speed bump, when her appendicitis while on an away trip to Adelaide escalated into two bouts of bowel surgery, eventually losing a collective 22cm of the organ across the two operations.

"That one was pretty out of the blue. I was definitely very shocked when it all happened, being interstate as well – we both did them interstate, which is hard when you don't have your closest people around you, and getting stuck there," Steph said.

"It was difficult because we didn't know what was going on. It's not like a knee where other people have done it, it was definitely an unknown. My role was just keeping Lucy company, sitting in her room, cleaning her room for her."

Sitting at a picnic table at a local park on a sunny Friday afternoon, Lucy chips in.

"I'm the messy one. I used to pay her to do it when we were young, but she did that one for free," she said.

"Steph's one minute older, I think she took all the cleanliness out with her when she was born."

Lucy's return to form has been nothing short of extraordinary, putting her firmly in the frame for a maiden All-Australian blazer, while finishing off her double degree of business (sports management) and sports science. 

Steph jokes that Lucy "learnt all she's known from me", tongue-in-cheek wanting to claim some credit, given the extensive skills and fitness work the pair did together over the off-season to rebuild Lucy's base.

"It's definitely been some unexpected form, but ultimately, I've tried to be consistent for what the team needs, and I've been trying to nail down what my role looks like and how I can best perform that for my team. There's been heaps of clarity this year on how I can get better and what I needed to add to my game," Lucy said.

"I'm still very defensively minded, and I like to drop back in our D50, but trying to add that offensive style to my game ahead of the ball. I haven't quite nailed it, but finally kicked a goal, so we've started somewhere. Getting a consistent pre-season has been vital, and I got back in time to do that, and have luckily avoided any injuries. 

"The main thing I lost was a lot of strength through that period. So I've had to learn how to best use my current body and different craft methods to allow me to play a bit undersized. I still haven't put back on the strength I would have liked. 

"For some reason, we've got a lot of ex-AFL ruckmen roaming around the club, so I've been trying to use them (Keegan Brooksby, Max Bailey and David Hale, as well as current Hawks rucks Ned Reeves and Lloyd Meek) to learn how to best use my body and use different strategies, especially with the new centre bounce rules. I've seen an opportunity to become a smarter player, so hopefully in the coming years as I keep building strength, I'm still able to outsmart other rucks."

Younger brother Cam badly injured his back and neck while diving into a pool overseas back in 2023, leaving him with partial quadriplegia.

He's now training alongside Steph in a different way, playing with the Australian wheelchair rugby team – which is based out of Essendon's Hangar – and is a regular face at his sisters' games.

Through all those periods of upheaval has been mum Caroline (as well as other brother Brendan, who while not an athlete, "is talented in many other ways" according to a grinning Steph).

"Mum's an incredible human. She's a nurse, so automatically she's got that care factor," Steph said. 

"She's genuinely there for us whenever we need, we always call if we need something, but she can often pick it before we ask."

Lucy and Steph Wales will face off when Hawthorn hosts Essendon on Sunday at 3.05pm AEDT at the Kennedy Community Centre. Tickets available here.