Lulu Pullar and her North Melbourne teammates are well aware of what a drought-breaking AFLW premiership would mean to Arden St. The Kangaroos are in their first grand final since joining the league in 2019 and will play the Brisbane Lions on Sunday at Ikon Park. North's last AFL flag was in 1999 and the men's side have finished in the bottom two for the last four seasons, most recently making the finals in 2016. There was much elation on and off the field at Ikon Park last Sunday when North beat Adelaide by one point in an epic preliminary final. "(The club has) been through some difficult times and the fans have really had to hang in there, be super-resilient," Pullar said. "The fans ... are so committed and passionate. "We speak often about, 'What would it be like to be that first North Melbourne women's team to bring home a premiership? What would that mean to the fans?'. "We just saw on the weekend - the pure elation and excitement among the fans at the game." Pullar, a doctor, said she had a North fan as one of her patients on Monday night who was "absolutely stoked" at the team's progress. "It's energy like that that makes you realise what we do truly matters," she said. "It makes me feel really proud to be a Kangaroo." Until this season, Pullar was a Lion. She was traded south as Brisbane lost several players to rival clubs. Despite that talent drain, Pullar is not surprised the Lions have made their fifth grand final - an AFLW record. "I'm really pumped to be playing my old side, some of my good mates in there. It will be a great battle," she said. "They obviously lost a lot of talent - I don't think I'm included in that discussion - but Brisbane is an incredible system. They have a great program. "Anyone who comes into it will be successful there." The North defender has suffered for her own success, sporting a nasty scar on her forehead that needed 10 stitches after an "innocuous" clash in the Kangaroos' round-nine loss to Adelaide. Pullar, who is a junior doctor at Western Health, was grateful a plastic surgeon in Adelaide "did a fabulous job" on the wound. "It's probably going to take a good year to fully heal up. (But) it's healing well," she said "I definitely wouldn't touch this one myself." Pullar said she has needed plenty of support to combine her medical career with the AFLW, rescheduling her roster to allow her to meet her football commitments. At 25, she expects to focus more on her football next season, mindful that medicine will be a longer-term career. "A lot of my mentors at work ... they hear you're a footy player and you're playing in the AFLW - the first thing they say is 'don't stop playing'," she said. "I'd be a fool not to give it a red-hot crack, because I will be a doctor for a very long time." Australian Associated Press
