Sometimes we don’t pick a favourite player, they pick us.

It’s a rite of passage for every football fan, finding that one player that draws you in above all others.

It can a be personal touch, a moment of brilliance, or the way they attack the contest like their life depends on it.

For a generation of St Kilda fans, it was smorgasbord of options: The ‘chosen one’ Lenny Hayes whose on-field ability was matched only by his off-field humility; The ultimate of cult heroes, Fraser 'G-Train' Gehrig. And, of course, the inspirational leader himself, Nick Riewoldt.

Somehow, we find a way to pick that one number to wear on our backs.

Until now.

St Kilda’s entry into AFLW has given us a whole new legion of heroes to love, and the license to choose another favourite.

Surely in football’s unwritten fan laws, it’s permissible to have both a men’s and women’s favourite player?

Regardless, I’ve chosen mine.

Without ever actually deciding to choose, subconsciously, I spent the first four weeks of the season weighing up my options.

I’d started the search even before they took the field, when Liv Vesely appeared on the horizon with her beaming smile, modesty and a willingness to throw herself at the ball.

One ferocious hit against the Crows that spilled the ball clear and led to a Saints goal only enhanced her credentials in my eyes.

I was also swept up in the dazzling skills of young gun Georgia Patrikios. The side-step, the class and the time and space she created around the ball reminded me of Lenny, and for a good while she shot to the top of my list.

A new 'G-Train' in Caitlin Greiser then appeared like a descendant from the gods as she almost singlehandedly dragged the Saints to their first ever victory over Melbourne.

I say ‘almost’, because riding shotgun that night was Kate McCarthy, with her explosive speed and perfect balance between skill and toughness.

Both became candidates for my favourite.

The leadership of Rhiannon Watt, the consistency of Hannah Priest and Tilly Lucas-Rodd, brought them into the equation. I love players that deliver every week.

And I couldn’t shake a soft spot for the hardness of Rosie Dillion and Tarni White.

But it was another youngster who in the end won me over.

I watched Molly McDonald in the VFLW last year kick some astonishing goals, including one in the preliminary final hemmed in on the wrong side for a left footer.

I was there to witness her register the Saints’ first ever AFLW goal in Round 1, and there again when she managed to sneak through another late against the Dockers in Round 4.

Her blistering pace, her long kicking, and knack for getting forward at the right time, they all contributed to my choice.

But at the end of the day, as Australians tend to do, it was the the uniquely human element that resonated the most.

Watching Molly’s reaction after a 50m penalty in the dying seconds in last week’s loss struck a chord.

While her teammates tried their best, the 19-year-old was inconsolable.

This was someone who cared deeply, who felt she had let her team down.

But in the unwritten laws for footy fans are two important lessons:

The game is never won in a single moment, but thousands of moments over the course of an afternoon.

And secondly, football has a strange habit of providing moments of redemption.

I know I’ll be there when Molly gets her chance. I’ll be watching when the No. 1 shoots into the clear and splits the middle.

For that number, is now my own.