Former Horsham resident Sophie Alexander has re-signed with Collingwood for the 2020 AFLW season.
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After an up-and-down first season with the Magpies, Alexander, 25, said she was eager to sign her second contract once she was offered the chance.
"I wasn't sure if I was going to be re-signed," Alexander said.
"There's always a bit of uncertainty with the one-year contracts... it's just difficult not being a top-tier player, nobody is really safe.
"But as soon as I was told, I was just stoked. I went straight in on Monday to sign on."
It was a difficult debut season for Alexander - perhaps best typified by the highs and lows she experienced in round one.
The couple of weeks at the end of the season waiting to get the contract was a bit of hell.
- Sophie Alexander
Alexander booted the first goal of the AFLW's third season with a trademark long bomb from 45 metres out. But in the third quarter she was concussed in a nasty collision, forcing her out for the remainder of the match and the following week.
Alexander said it was difficult to fully recover from the incident and she played just three more games for the season.
"I probably lost a bit of confidence getting knocked out in game one," Alexander said.
"That's the tricky thing with seven games in the AFLW season - you feel like you find your feet in the last game of the season, but by then it's all over.
"But it's very exciting to get another opportunity. Now I have the whole year to get my body ready for next season."
To be given another year in the AFLW is a massive step in the right direction for Alexander, who had a difficult journey into the top league.
A former basketballer, Alexander was overlooked at the 2017 AFLW draft, before impressing for Collingwood's VFLW side and getting offered an AFLW deal for 2019.
Alexander has also managed mental health concerns after she was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2013.
She said Collingwood had been a tremendous help in her gradual improvement.
"The couple of weeks at the end of the season waiting to get the contract was a bit of hell," Alexander said.
"But once that was signed it was a huge relief. Now I can look back and think I'm in a great place mentally and at a great club.
"They've given me so much support. It's just going from strength to strength at the moment."
Richard Crabtree
richard.crabtree@austcommunitymedia.com.au
richard.crabtree@austcommunitymedia.com.au
