After a brief stay in her native New Zealand and then Sydney, the first thing Jesse Wardlaw purchased when she eventually settled in Victoria was a drumkit.
She’d been taking lessons during the off-season after departing Brisbane for St Kilda – “I wish I started learning earlier!” she laughs – but there’s been far more behind it than simply picking up the sticks and going hell-for-leather on the skins.
For as long as she can remember, the Saints’ star recruit has always been in pursuit of the next challenge.
Learning how to play the drums was one of the most recent, but there’s been an exhaustive list before that. Netballer-turned-footballer, Kiwi-turned-Aussie, Lion-turned-Saint; Wardlaw has rarely stood still.
“A big motto I live by is ‘take all your opportunities and leave behind fear. If you do that, you’ll always succeed’,” Wardlaw told saints.com.au.
“Forever, I’ve been the type of person to always chase something new and want to be excited by that.
“I’m down here trying to chase more opportunities and I’m keen to see what the footy state is all about! Five seasons at the Brisbane Lions was awesome, but after a while I just thought I needed a fresh start.
“It’s been a pretty seamless move actually. I’ve been here for three weeks now and am loving it so far. I love being in a new environment and a new place, everything feels so foreign to me, but it’s so exciting.”
Born in Ashburton, New Zealand (her mother is Māori and family hails from the Waikato region in South Auckland), Wardlaw’s budding football career took off unexpectedly after giving nine-a-side football a go at her local school.
She took to it like a duck to water. The physicality was right up her alley, and from there, it didn’t take long for her name to feature in various representative sides in Queensland.
Netball, the sport which she’d played for many years, took a backseat as she landed at the Brisbane Lions Academy and was eventually drafted in 2018. Fear was again left behind; her latest venture accompanied by AFLW Premiership glory in 2021.
At just 23 years old, St Kilda’s future forward spearhead has an AFLW résumé that sits among some of the best in the competition, complete with All-Australian (2022), Premiership (2021) and AFLW Leading Goalkicker (2022) honours.
Similar to last season’s recruit Nicola Stevens, her first game for the Saints will be the 50th of her AFLW career.
“I always knew growing up that I wanted to be a professional athlete. Coming from netball, I switched down the AFLW pathway and just went for it,” Wardlaw said.
“The Saints have been super welcoming, the girls are awesome and I’m excited for what’s to come in the red, white and black.”
Wardlaw has quickly become acquainted to the “high-energy” antics of her new housemate Olivia Vesely, yet doesn’t arrive at RSEA Park a total stranger.
The ex-Lion was teammates with the Saints’ sole draft pick of 2023, Beth Pinchin, during her time at Brisbane and was friends with her before that, and also played a season with Nat Exon before she made the move south ahead of St Kilda's inaugural AFLW season.
In just a few months’ time Wardlaw will be heading up a new-look Saints forward line with even more new teammates in tow, including Steph Chiocci and Jaimee Lambert through the midfield and Serene Watson and Natalie Plane down back.
“I’m really keen to play with Nat Exon again. Hopefully she’s coming down the middle again and can lace me up!” Wardlaw said.
“So far, I really like Grace Kelly’s speed and competitiveness. I think she’s got a lot to bring to the team, but there’s still a whole lot more to learn about the forward line and how we can work together.”
