THERE have been plenty of Irish players come to Australia to try their luck at AFLW, but there's one thing that sets Blaithin Mackin apart.
The Amagh product had some of "the best fundamentals" of any Irish players Melbourne recruiting boss Todd Patterson had seen.
Mackin's traits meant there were three clubs vying for her signature, but it was a whirlwind 48-hour visit to Ireland from Demons coach Mick Stinear that helped seal the deal for Mackin and her family.
"I was delighted when Melbourne offered me a contract," Mackin said, brushing off any suggestion that she was a player in demand.
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"I feel like I've made the right choice.
"Mick came over and visited me and I think that's a testament to the club and testament to the character of Mick. They were willing to do that to make me feel more settled. My family as well, once they met Mick it put them at ease straight away.
"That definitely made the whole experience less daunting."
The 23-year-old finished out her Gaelic Championship season with Armagh before making the move, only arriving in Melbourne on the eve of the Demons' practice match at the MCG in August, but she hit the ground running.
As Melbourne prepares for its third preliminary final in as many seasons, Mackin has become such a key cog in its team that it's hard to believe she's only been in the country for 14 weeks.
"Whenever you say it out loud sometimes it sounds a bit crazy," Mackin said of the flurry of her move to Australia.
"It's been made easy by Melbourne and in general, the football club, I felt like everyone got around me and just supported me through the whole process."
Settling into her new home has also been made easier by housemates Megan Fitzsimon and Alyssa Bannan, both emerging talents at the Demons who are, to Mackin, founts of knowledge.
"If not for them, then settling in probably would have been way more difficult ... they're both brilliant. It's been so good living with them for the football side of it anyway, because just picking up wee things that you'd be talking about, they've helped me a lot in that way."
Serious and driven, Mackin also has "a similar cheekiness" to AFLW icon Daisy Pearce, list boss Patterson notes when discussing what the Irishwoman adds to the Demons both on and off the field.
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Heading to the club every day for skills sessions - so many skills sessions - saw Mackin progress from an emergency in the opening three rounds to a regular fixture in one of the most dominant sides in the competition. But in the chaos of Melbourne's first AFLW Grand Final week, Patterson wasn't all in when Irish football talent ID and skills coach Mike Currane first brought her to his attention.
"The quality of her movement, the sidestep, we were pretty impressed with, but we weren't all in at that point," Patterson said of his first impressions.
"I asked Mike to send me some vision of her fundamentals and at that point, that's when I got really interested because she probably had the best fundamentals of any of the Irish players we've looked at previously."
Her steady improvement culminated in her best game to date, in Melbourne's qualifying final win over Adelaide no less. But, according to Patterson, they have "barely scratched the surface" of Mackin's potential.
"She has an aerial ability that hasn't come together yet. I was excited about her aerial potential, and she really hasn't had a chance to show it off or executed as consistently as she would like," he said.
And the physicality of Australian Football?
"I have enjoyed it a lot, because it does make you think quicker," Mackin said with a laugh.
