DAISY Bateman has packed a lot of life into her 25 years.

From falling in love with footy from a hospital bed, to dropping back out of love, only to be wooed by another passion: music. Bateman is an example of what happens when both skill and determination combine.

As she prepares to release her debut EP 'See Me Standing' with band Daezy, she reflects on the footy journey that ultimately led to her burgeoning music career.

Bateman played 48 games across six seasons at North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, before giving the game away at the end of the 2023 season.

Originally a basketballer, joining the Whitehorse Colts introduced her to footy where she played a handful of games each year through her teens. But an illness, which forced Bateman into hospital for nearly a month, changed her perspective.

"When I was 17, I got really sick," Bateman told AFL.com.au.

"I was in hospital and on the TV, there was Adelaide Crows v Brisbane, the inaugural [AFLW] Grand Final. At that moment I was like 'I'm going to do it. I'm going to get drafted'."

And if Daisy Bateman is determined to do something, she does it. Once out of hospital and fully recovered – which took months – she headed down to the Oakleigh Chargers program and began her AFLW talent pathway journey from there.

Oakleigh Chargers, Victoria Metro, Collingwood VFLW, then draft night.

Close friend Katie Lynch was already part of the Chargers' program, making it a soft place to land as Bateman pursued a footy career.

"I kind of went through the perfect journey in the space of one year," Bateman said.

Just 12 months after deciding to pursue footy in earnest, Bateman was drafted with North Melbourne's first ever pick – No.25 – as the club prepared to enter the league in 2019.

So, fresh out of high school, Bateman was suddenly surrounded by players she had spent the preceding years admiring. Captain Emma Kearney took the teenager under her wing and daily lunchtime walks with Jasmine Garner bonded the pair.

These little connections helped her navigate the shift to professional standards, the pressures of being in the public eye, and the fight for selection each week.

"At that time, a quarter or a third of the team were based in Tasmania. There were two other 18-year-olds who got drafted with me, the Haines twins, but they were in Tassie, so I was the only 18-year-old in the Melbourne pool," Bateman said.

"Everyone was a lot older, more experienced, but I feel like it was really perfect for me, because if I'm surrounded by hard work, I'll work really hard.

"And I really had no choice… (I was) surrounded by people that just wanted to succeed."

For three seasons Bateman was thriving, playing every game, avoiding the worries of weekly selection. But in 2022 (S6), that changed. The forward was dropped ahead of the side's round eight clash with Melbourne.

Bateman puts her dip in form down to her falling out of love with footy. The spark, the fun that initially spurred her on had dulled and it was showing on the field.

"I'd never, ever had really that much anxiety around selection after my first year, was pretty well established within the team. Then I was just kind of like, I don't really know what else I can be doing. I'm not enjoying it as much," Bateman explained.

"So, by the end of it, I was just like, I need to find enjoyment again. Then I spoke to Katie Lynch and the rest was history, really."

After initially landing at Collingwood, Lynch had made the move to the Western Bulldogs for the 2021 season and started to hit a groove as a player. It was an appealing prospect for Bateman who was starting to be ground down by the external expectation that came with being a young player, and the pressures put on a North Melbourne team that was perpetually thereabouts, but never reached the pinnacle.

"I had a lot of really good friends that played at the Bulldogs, and at that time my career had plateaued a little bit. I had a really good, strong three years of upwards trajectory, and then I think the association with the enjoyment of it, the pressure, it started reflecting in my performance," Bateman conceded.

It was an odd time in the AFLW landscape, as the final four clubs – Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, and Sydney – were preparing to enter the League, while the next season had been moved up to August of 2022, just six months after the end of the sixth season.

Amidst the expansion phase, the Dogs lost forwards Bonnie Toogood and Brooke Lochland, while Isabel Huntington was also traded out, meaning a crafty forward like Bateman was exactly what the club needed.

Arriving at the Bulldogs, it was a totally different environment to North Melbourne. Where the Roos were an older list, packed with experience and intense personalities, the Dogs were at the other end of the scale in terms of age and experience.

"Playing with my friends, it certainly helped me find the enjoyment of it, because it was the rawest group of girls, and also complete opposite end of the spectrum to where I was at North," Bateman said.

"I loved the success in the first year, we made the first final against Collingwood and lost – just – but it was just the coolest team to be a part of, because we were all so raw and everyone just worked their asses off."

But through it all, her love for music was bubbling away, listening to bands like Ball Park Music, Arctic Monkeys, and London Grammar on repeat.

An abrupt end to the 2020 AFLW season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns meant Bateman, along with the rest of the world, had some extra time on her hands.

That time was spent mucking around with a piano, teaching herself to play, and testing the waters of songwriting. She had always been a good singer, but was too timid to show anyone, but as her love for footy was waning, her attention was gradually shifting to music.

"It's just always been there," Bateman said of her love for music.

"I just didn't really ever think it could become a reality. But certainly, toward the end, I genuinely remember being like 'I'm going to start a band' or 'I'm going to start singing', and the people around me at the time were like 'you're going to, you'll love it and be happy'."

With that, Daezy was born, and a change in perspective took place. She was realistic about how much work she was willing to put into footy, and that something else was providing her the joy that footy once did.

"I knew where the club was positioned, and I knew that I wasn't going to push for other options, like that was just not an option for me anymore," Bateman said.

"I mean, we were wooden spooners, we lost most games, but that never really affected me, the losses. It was how I would feel, even if we won or lost, or if I played well or played badly, it would pretty much be the same feeling. So, I knew that whole year, I had a very strong gut feeling that it would be my last."

Where just a couple of years earlier she was struggling to navigate the public pressure that comes from being on an AFLW list, Bateman's growth over that time meant that the opinions of those closest to her became the only important voices.

"My mindset changed a lot," Bateman said.

"I think I could recognise that being on a list in the first place is an achievement, and I was really lucky to be able to play as many games as I did… When I was playing my best football (I was playing freely). I knew that I belonged in the team, or I knew that I had a role to play."

But when the delisting was made official in December 2023, everyone knew what Bateman's next step would be.

"I knew exactly what I was going to do. Everyone around me at the time knew that I was going to start music and give it a red-hot crack," Bateman said.

"What it looked like, or how I was going to do it, I had no clue."

Just two months later, however, Bateman was on stage at Fitzroy's Old Bar performing her first gig with band Daezy, the day after turning 24. In a setlist of 10 songs, just one was an original, but the nearly sold-out venue didn't mind.

"I just emailed the venue and said 'Hey, I want to play a gig' and I had no idea that venues did three band lineups. I had no clue that I would have to find people to be part of my lineup," Bateman laughed.

Friend Josh would play guitar, acquaintance Jackson jumped on bass, and Jackson's housemate "who's not a drummer" was the drummer.

"We were like 80 per cent sold out on the first night. All my friends banded together and came, and then from there, because we sold tickets, we just caught traction," Bateman said.

A year into her life as a former footballer, now musician, Bateman is pleased to reflect back on how her two lives connect.

"I draw parallels all the time. They're both kind of weirdly similar industries and people band together a lot, because (in) the Australian music scene everyone wants everyone to succeed, and people are really willing to give everyone a crack," Bateman said.

"So, it's a similar thing to AFLW, right? I definitely have learned so much. When I was drafted for the first time, like learning, meeting new people, trying to work out the industry. Now, it's taken me a year to really have a good understanding (of music).

"I feel like I'm at school again, I'm really wanting to learn everything."

It's about putting vulnerabilities on show, just in a different way. On the footy field it's about intelligence, fitness, and skill level, and if someone's not up to scratch they are exposed on a public stage. In the recording studio, or a live show, it's about emotionally opening up. Writing songs that cut deep to the heart of who someone is as a person, and then being willing to share those, takes just as much courage as taking to the field.

"There are still parts of it that are really uncomfortable. It's extremely vulnerable, especially songwriting, you're telling the story of your life which is quite confronting," Bateman explained.

And with the step away from footy, Bateman has re-established her love for the game.

"I love watching. I love watching my friends, it's the best part," Bateman said.

"It's also one of the reasons I realised I didn't really like it anymore. Going and watching my friends play and getting way more enjoyment out of watching them play than playing myself was the catalyst. But I love watching it still and will support it for the rest of my life."