ELLIE Blackburn’s ego had taken a hit. Then it took another.

“It just felt like I was getting things taken away from me at that time,” Blackburn told AFL.com.au ahead of Sunday’s do-or-die elimination final against Sydney.

“It probably was the biggest resilience-building time of my life.”

Having captained the Western Bulldogs since 2019, Blackburn was replaced as captain ahead of the 2024 season following the introduction of what the club called a “new and robust leadership selection process”.

That was in July. In September, just three games into the season, Blackburn suffered a foot injury that would end her season.

Blackburn’s foot was trapped under an opponent’s body during a tackle, causing a Lisfranc injury that required two rounds of surgery and the insertion of a plate.

“It was really tough at the time when I did that injury. Mentally, it was really challenging throughout it. And I think just the change that was happening, not having the captaincy,” Blackburn said.

“But I look back on it now and I think ‘jeez, I learnt so much about myself throughout that time’. I learnt about the ways that I didn’t want to be.

“I didn’t want to be – for lack of a better term – a Debbie Downer. I didn’t want to be that person that brought the group down.

“I had to reflect pretty heavily on the way that I wanted to carry myself. I wanted to be proud of who I am and the teammate I would like to be as well for the group.

“I had to learn to accept that the reality was that I couldn’t change anything that was happening. It was all out of my control. So I honed in on the things that I could really focus on and do something about. I think that’s helped me be in such a better position.

“I’m not saying I’d love to relive it again. But I’m glad I’ve come out the other side in the way that I have.”

Not only did having footy physically taken away teach Blackburn resilience, but having the captaincy removed also proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“I felt like part of me probably at the time wanted to really hold onto the title as such and felt like it was a lot to let it go, but now that it’s been a few years since I’ve been captain, I’ve really enjoyed [life without the title],” she said.

“Ironically, I feel like I’m probably even a better leader now than what I ever was as a captain.

“I feel like I took a lot of the load on probably five years ago, and felt a lot of the pressure and probably took too much ownership and responsibility for the way were as a group.

“In hindsight, I wish I’d asked for more help and shared the load with some others. But what’s probably helped now is, I look at people like Cleo Buttifant, Elaine Grigg and Charlie O’Connor Moreira, these players, they’ve added a bit of a softer side to me and probably brought out a bit of a sillier side to me in the change rooms and behind the four walls.

“As a result of that, I feel like I’m just enjoying it so much. This is probably one of the most enjoyable seasons of footy I’ve ever had this year.

“I think it’s just a result of the way the people at the club are at the moment, and the way I’ve just been a bit more relaxed being here and just learning to embrace it.”

A new captain wasn’t the only change at the Dogs ahead of the 2024 season, with a new coach in Tamara Hyett, new general manager of football in Patrice Berthold, new list manager in Dan Fisher, and 10 players leaving the club.

The changes came with teething issues, with a young playing list learning how to play a new system under a new coach. But it all came together, albeit slowly as first.

Now, three years later, the Dogs are back in finals for the first time since season seven, 2022, with a detour via a wooden spoon in 2023.

“I feel very proud that the group stuck together through what was pretty trying times for us as a team,” Blackburn said.

“I reflect black on that time, and as tough and challenging as it was then, I think it was pivotal to our growth, to what we’ve been able to eventuate to and succeed in.

“The changes that had to come as a result of everything that was happening, I think it was really important for our club.

“I feel so proud of the way everyone’s developed and grown, and the football we’re producing at the moment and that it’s all of us, it’s not just relying on a couple of players to contribute, it’s for all of us to win games.”

Gone are the days of Blackburn feeling like she had to do everything and carry the team on her shoulders.

The young talent brought into the club while it was in the doldrums now have a few years’ experience under their belts, with players like Jess Fitzgerald now leading the charge and challenging Blackburn to train harder and better.

High-performance standards have been also been raised for young and old alike, with Blackburn noting the playing group is now finding the fun in the hard work.

“We thought we were working hard… but then upon reflection, we probably didn’t know back then that we weren’t working as hard as what some of the other teams were and what we were even capable of ourselves,” she said.

“It wasn’t until we were really challenged by our high performance staff in terms of our running capabilities and they set really strong targets for us last off-season in particular, coming into this pre-season as a group and challenged us to be better.

“The layer we haven’t lost is the fun side of who we are as a team. That’s a bit of us.

“But we’ve learned alongside having fun is that there’s fun in the hard work.

“Our fun silly stuff is a result of the hard work, and I think that’s what we’ve been able to build over the last couple of seasons is that maturity and knowing when to flip the switch from being silly and having fun to knowing now’s the time to really go to work and knuckle down and work hard for what we’ve got to achieve.

“We wanted to play finals and we’ve wanted that for a long time, and we want to be able to maintain that in the future as well.” 

The Western Bulldogs face Sydney in an elimination final on Sunday at Henson Park at 1.05pm AEDT. Tickets available here.