With a last name synonymous with horse racing, Breann Moody is proud of her family’s sporting heritage, but the reigning All Australian ruck and inaugural Carlton AFLW footballer is building her own legacy.
“I would read back articles of interviews and stuff that I’d done, or I’d see a photo in the paper, and it would always be, ‘Breann, Daughter of Black Caviar trainer Peter Moody’ and of course I’m so proud of Mum and Dad … but coming into my sixth season now I am pretty eager to start making my own name for myself,” Moody said.
Coming off a career best 2021 season, Moody, alongside twin sister, and Western Bulldogs ruck Celine, is motivated to take her game to a new level this year.
The two sisters are usually on the same team off the footy field, but will put family ties aside when they meet in the middle for the fourth time when the Bulldogs face-off against the Blues, in a clash better known between the sisters as the ‘Moody Cup’.
Despite the red-hot rivalry between the two, Moody insists that it’s her favourite game on the calendar to get all their family and friends together to watch the sisters do battle.
“‘Moods’ is one of those rare players Who can completely turn a game and bring others along with her, and as good as she is, she’s not even at her ceiling yet.” – Blues ruck coach shaun hampson
“Obviously, you like to be the one that comes out on top, with your work in the ruck and also with your team getting the four points … but to have us out there playing alongside each other, challenging each other, but also being each other’s biggest support, yeah, it’s pretty special and I’m excited to do it this weekend,” Moody said.
The ‘Moody Cup’ was due to take place this Sunday, however, due to multiple players from both teams currently in AFL Health and Safety Protocols it has been postponed.
Witnessing the impact that Moody has had on the women’s game since its inception in 2016, it’s strange to think that prior to joining Carlton the 24-year-old hadn’t played a whole heap of football.
Football was something she enjoyed playing through school and with her older sister, Cara, but it wasn’t until talk started about an AFLW competition that one of the league’s premier rucks thought she’d give the sport a serious go.
“[Football] was a lot less time consuming and still I got that same enjoyment from it that I did with the horses and I’m so grateful that Carlton picked me up after my first season at Cranbourne,” she said.
In her ruck role, Moody thrives off the physicality of the game and her active lifestyle helped to prepare her for this aspect of footy.
Growing up on her family’s property in Belgrave South, 44km south-east of Melbourne, tending and playing with the animals on her property and chasing her sisters around was something that she always loved to do, and she enjoys being able to put that into her game.
“Dad always tells this story and he’ll talk to his friends saying ‘Yeah, I’ve got a police officer, a soldier and two footy players at home’,” Moody said.
“By the sounds of it he would have three sons, but he’s actually got three daughters .”
Ruck work is something that comes naturally to Moody.
“I am one of the bigger-bodied girls on the team so I’m comfortable lining up against someone of similar size or a little bit bigger. I can sort of throw my body around … also knowing I’ve got the ability to jump is a massive help … it’s probably a good thing that I don’t have to think too much about it,” she said.
Moody’s ruck coach at Carlton, former Blue and ex-Tiger Shaun Hampson, agrees that although her athletic talent is undeniable, she’s so much more than that.
“‘Moods’ is one of those rare players who can completely turn a game and bring others along with her, and as good as she is, she’s not even at her ceiling yet,” Hampson said.
Having played in the inaugural AFLW match between Carlton and Collingwood in 2017, Moody is excited about the direction the game is heading.
“It’s come a long way already and so quickly too … we’ve had some pretty exciting meetings with the AFLPA in terms of the sport moving forward and what that looks like from a part-time to full-time transition, so hopefully that will happen within my playing career but it’s so exciting for the young girls coming ahead knowing that in their playing careers they’ll possibly be full time AFLW players” she said.
Moody continues to collect individual accolades with her maiden All Australian selection from last year adding to the best and fairest win she claimed in 2018.
“Hopefully people won’t look back and just think, ‘Oh that’s just one of Moody’s daughters or something like that’. Hopefully they’ll look back and think ‘Yeah, she was one of the inaugural game changers at Carlton,” Moody said.