AFTER the heartbreak of missing selection for last year's Grand Final, North Melbourne defender Eliza Shannon finally got her moment in Saturday night's decider.
With a medal around her neck, her proud family beaming next to her and with her own shining smile to match, this was everything she could have dreamed of.
AFLW GRAND FINAL Full match coverage and stats
"I feel like I'm in a movie," Shannon said post-match.
"I'm over the moon, just crazy, incredible. I've been playing footy since I was five years old and you never saw this sort of thing happen, and then to end up at North Melbourne, which is just a really good club and then to win the flag, it's crazy."
It was the hard-luck story of 2024, when Shannon was pulled from the side ahead of their preliminary final against Port Adelaide to make way for returning captain, Emma Kearney.
After playing every game of the 2023 season, Shannon had battled an ankle injury last year and struggled to find enough form to play more than three games, resulting in the brutal omission for the pinnacle matches of the season.
"It was sad (missing the 2024 flag) but I understood the scenario," Shannon said.
"Coming back from injury and we had such a good list and Emma Kearney is an incredible player, and the captain, and it was disappointing.
"But this year, I earned it."
North Melbourne is as club centric as they come; as Shannon puts it, each player is just "a cog in the machine".
But for all the talk of a collective all-club flag, Shannon knows its not quite the same as running out there and being a part of the 21 on game day.
"The girls definitely try to make sure you do feel a part of it, but it does feel different," she said.
"I think just naturally, you feel a bit more involved this year. It does feel a bit more real. But not to say that last year wasn't also incredible.
"I can totally empathise with the girls who weren't selected tonight, so we just really needed to make sure they knew how valued they were. They played just as much of a part, if not more, than some of the girls on the field today."
With 27 consecutive wins and the AFLW's first back-to-back flags, North Melbourne has changed the game in the competition's 10-season history.
"The trajectory of AFLW is looking so good and as you can tell by the performance tonight, we're going somewhere. So hopefully everyone still believes," Shannon said.
"It's such an incredible club like they deserve these accolades, and I hope other clubs can take a leaf out of North Melbourne's book and produce some of the footy that we do."
The Roos now have their back-to-back flags, but now that Shannon's got the taste of just the one, is she gunning for her own personal second flag next year?
"Oh yeah why not, would never say no," she said.
"Let's go back-to-back-to-back-to-back!"
