Libby Birch has gone from Boroondara Express netball midcourter to Western Bulldogs AFL draftee, in a pair of borrowed boots.

Maybe it’s time for her to shoot a note to Santa.

Wanted: a new pair of footy boots. She’s been running around in a borrowed pair for a few months and its probably time to give them back.

Mind you, borrowed boots have done the trick.

Ascot Vale’s Birch has gone from footy debutante to VFL premiership player to rookie of the year nominee to being drafted by the Western Bulldogs for the inaugural AFL Women’s competition.

I guess it doesn’t hurt to slip on someone else’s boots when that someone else is Daisy Pearce, probably the greatest player in the history of the women’s game.

“It’s probably a symbol that I’m still wearing her boots,” Birch told Leader last week, such has been the influence Pearce has had on the 18-year-old’s adventure.

A brilliant midcourter with Boroondara Express in the Victorian Netball League, Birch has always been multi-talented.

“I’ve captained Australia and Victoria in netball for a couple of years,” she said. “Netball has been my focus for a solid five years and, before that, I was a state hockey player with my netball.”

A dab hand at tennis to boot, Birch’s ability to succeed at any code she turned her attention to was well known around her school, the Maribyrnong Sports Academy, and it drew the notice of a footy world preparing itself for the biggest step forward in its history.

“Daisy rang me up and said, ‘do you want to come down for a talent screening?’,” Birch recalls. “But, it just wasn’t the right time.”

She was just about to contest the 21 and under netball nationals and her focus was already spoken for.

“I had an amazing tournament,” she said. “We got the silver medal and I played up (an age group) and it was an amazing experience.”

But, Birch was overlooked for the national squad to contest the World Cup and was left shattered.

“It was pretty devastating, so I rang Daisy and said, ‘Can I have a kick’,” she said. “I absolutely loved it. It was just to get out and do something to get over the disappointment.”

In a pair of boots borrowed from Pearce, Birch made her debut for VFL outfit Darebin, kicking a goal and finding herself among the votes.

The Falcons went on to annex yet another flag and the Bulldogs liked what they saw in the youngster and offered her one of their two rookie spots reserved for athletes from different sports.

Birch said none of the whirlwind would have happened if not for the encouragement of Pearce and the Darebin Falcons.

“You don’t really understand the significance of Daisy Pearce (in women’s football) until you are involved,” she said. “The embrace I got from Darebin was amazing. I can’t thank them enough. It (being drafted) was the greatest moment in my sporting life.”

Birch brings with her extraordinary agility and peripheral vision, honed in the cut and thrust of the midcourt of netball at an elite level.

And, she isn’t a total novice when it comes to the oval ball.

“I’ve always followed footy,” she said. “My brother wants to be an AFL umpire, so he’s kept me up on the rules. I’ve always followed St Kilda. Loved Lenny Hayes.

“But, I’m a Western Bulldogs fan now I guess.”

There are, however, some things she’s had to come to grips with after stepping onto footy field.

“The biggest thing I noticed is when you get the ball in netball, you are protected. When you get the ball in footy, you aren’t,” she said. “I’ll probably start tackling in netball now. And, at one training, Daisy said, ‘you can actually run with the ball when you get it you know’.”

On the down side, Birch has already had her first footy setback, spending the past week in bed — two days of that in hospital — with tonsillitis and a chest infection. Much to her annoyance, she will miss her very first Bulldogs training session.

“I’m passionate about women’s sport and, as a young sportswoman, to be part of this emerging competition is really exciting,” she said. “I’m a person who loves to train, and trains hard, maybe too hard sometimes. I’m frustrated because I had to spend four days in bed, so I’ll have to sit this one out.”

But, setbacks can be the name of the game at times and Birch, since the disappointment of missing a national netball squad, has learned to embrace what life throws at her.

“Setbacks don’t always have to be setbacks, they can be a new opportunity,” she said. “It’s like turning towards a new door.”

And, that door has become the players race at the MCG, albeit in borrowed boots.