GEORGIE PARKER: Daisy Peace’s full circle moment as her Eagles stand on brink of finals

Twelve years ago, Daisy Pearce was the face of a movement that hadn’t yet begun.

She was the smiling captain in those early Melbourne v Western Bulldogs exhibition matches, the unofficial prelude to what would become the AFLW.

A lifetime spent playing the game she loved, then suddenly put on national television to prove women belong on the footy field. And she thrived.

Her poise, skill and leadership hinted at what women’s football could be.

And a decade on, Pearce again finds herself on the edge of something historic.

If her West Coast side beats Carlton this weekend, they’ll qualify for AFLW finals for the first time.

“Attack” was the word Pearce used this week to describe how she wants her side to approach the challenge. A simple mantra has come to define her coaching style — bold, purposeful and fearless, much like her playing career.

Lauren Arnell had a similar moment last year, taking her Port Adelaide side to finals for the first time. Another pioneer of the game who was just on the cusp of the AFLW era, Arnell belongs to that generation of players who got a taste, rather than a full mouthful, of the semi-professional women’s game.

Both she and Pearce enjoyed premiership success in their comparatively short careers, but their greatest legacy will be their influence on the next generation.

At the Eagles, no player embodies that influence more than Ella Roberts. The 20-year-old gun has been West Coast’s stand-out this season. She’s everything you want in a player. Creative and hardworking with the ability to turn a game.

She plays years ahead of where she should be and much of that can be credited to Pearce and her brave move out west in 2023 to be the coach of a young team.

Roberts was just nine when Pearce first appeared on our screens in 2013, captaining Melbourne in that landmark exhibition match where she was best on ground. For Roberts, and for so many of her generation, those broadcasts weren’t novelties; they were proof that a future existed. For them now playing footy isn’t a novelty, it’s a career.

You can see the culture shifting at West Coast. A group of players competing not just for their coach but with her.

It’s no surprise. Daisy has always been a leader who brings others with her, just as she did with her teammates at Melbourne and with an entire country as women’s footy found its voice.

There’s a symmetry to it all. Pearce, once the trailblazer inspiring a new wave, is now guiding that very wave to the brink of history.

The equation is simple for the Eagles: win, and they’re in.

For a young team that’s never tasted finals, it’s an opportunity that feels both sudden and years in the making. For Pearce, it’s a full-circle moment — from the pioneer who made the dream visible, to the coach who might just make it real.