RISING Brisbane defender Arianna Clarke has documented her remarkable personal journey to Queensland under-18 captain and playing in the Grand Final in her first year in the AFL Women's competition.

The 19-year-old played all eight games for the Lions in 2018 and looked increasingly more confident at the top level as the season progressed.

Clarke was born in the mining town of Kambalda, seven hours inland from Perth.

With her dad having "never really been in the picture", Clarke's mum worked in the mines in Kalgoorlie, driving trucks in 24-hour shift work.

"From about eight years old, I got myself to and from school. I made my own lunches and did my own laundry. I washed the dishes. I made my bed and cleaned my own room. I'd get groceries with the money Mum left out," Clarke wrote on playersvoice.com.au.

"I spent a lot of time at my Nanna's, but mostly I was looking after myself. And I enjoyed that responsibility because the flip side was freedom."

Clarke was playing football with the local boys' team in Kambalda before she moved with her mother and her mother's partner to the Gold Coast.

"At first, I hated the Gold Coast. I didn't know anyone, and my life just felt upside down because I'd lost my freedom. I didn't have my motorbike and the city was busy and chaotic," she said.

"I went from one life in remote Western Australia to another as the new girl at Robina State High School.

"I felt lost amongst 1500 other students. I'd never had to be aware of different social groups and dynamics or how to make friends in Kambalda."

Finding Broadbeach Football Club helped Clarke settle into her new surrounds.

"Footy gave me a group of friends and I started to feel at home on the Gold Coast. After two years there, I had a new life and I liked it a lot," she said.

"That all fell apart when I was 15, when Mum and [her partner] split up and he moved away. All of a sudden, everything was uncertain again.

"Mum was struggling to get mining work in Queensland and one night she came home and told me we were moving back to Western Australia. She was going to book flights that night."

Clarke refused to head back, eventually moving in with boyfriend Kurtis and his parents, Kirsty and Neil.

Determined to pay rent, she took on a job at a kebab shop, essentially managing the business before she had even left school.

"I used to work Monday to Thursday after school. Then on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when I didn't have school, I'd open the shop at 7am and do the day shift. I'd duck out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to play footy and then come back to do the closing shift.”

Clarke paid credit to Kirsty and Neil, who made sure she and Kurtis (a goalkeeper in the Australian schoolboys’ soccer squad) got to all their training commitments.

"If both of us had training, but only one of them was free (to drive), they'd take me to training and make Kurtis get a lift with mates. I couldn't have done it without them.

"I got into the AFL Women's national academy that year as well, which meant I was flying around Australia playing against other states, and at the end of the season I was named All Australian."

After a stellar under-18 year, Clarke was drafted last October by Brisbane with pick 15.

"Craig [coach Craig Starcevich] calling me was the most emotional part. He knew my story and I could hear his voice start to crack on the phone. He's not the kind of guy who shows much emotion, but I felt I had made him proud.

"I still get emotional, just remembering that moment and everything I'd been through to get there,” she said.

 “Finally, it felt like proof that all the heartache had been worth it. It was a relief, almost. Like I could finally breathe a little."

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