Starting at the club as a nutrition intern, Meg Crocker's role has evolved to see her now working as the Saints' Sports Dietitian across their AFL and AFLW teams.

One of many females playing key roles in the club's AFL and AFLW football departments, Meg sat down with us to discuss her role and journey as we celebrate 2023 International Women's Day.

Stay tuned for more profiles of our inspiring women!

What’s been your journey at the Saints? 

I started here as a nutrition intern in November 2021 prior to completing my final semester of uni and worked alongside the men’s team for season 2022, involved in a combination of training days and game days. I knew straight away that this was somewhere I could see myself working and a career I'd wish to pursue.

An opportunity then opened up as the AFLW sports dietitian prior to their Season 7 and I jumped at the opportunity to take on this role. The role of Sports Dietician here at the Saints has since evolved to have myself working across both the AFL and AFLW teams.

What are the key parts of your role?

My role covers the key aspects of nutrition and food, while working closely with the athletes, high-performance team and medical team. This includes pre-, during and post-exercise nutrition, hydration and food for both training and competition, as well as individualised nutrition assessment and planning for players, body composition assessment and monitoring, and education around nutrition for optimising performance.

What do you love about working at the Saints? 

I love the fast-paced environment where everyone is working together and striving towards a common goal. I get to combine my love for health, food, sport and supporting people to achieve their goals and do that alongside incredibly talented, knowledgeable and driven people. Each day has its differences, and I am constantly learning from those around me.

What does it mean to you as a female to work in a largely male-dominated industry?

I feel lucky here at the Saints to feel respected, supported and valued as a female working in a largely male-dominated industry. I also have some other amazing women around me that are not only great at their jobs, but also fantastic people. We can get together and bond over the commonalities of being females working in a male-dominated space.

In saying this, the growth of AFLW means it is no longer a purely male-dominated industry and the involvement of females is increasing all the time. It is very exciting to see!