At a glance:

  • Moments after rupturing her ACL last year, Tarni White was comforted in the changerooms by St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary.
  • White says it was the moment that cemented her as a St Kilda player for a long time to come.
  • The Coorparoo recruit will make her long-awaited return in tonight's match against the Western Bulldogs.

As the distant murmur of the RSEA Park crowd bubbles away, a crestfallen Tarni White, tucked away in the club changerooms, is struggling to hold back tears.

It’s Round 4, 2020, Saints v Dockers. The 19-year-old gun from Queensland is just four games into her AFLW career but already, her debut season is over.

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A twist, then a pop like a firecracker being let off under her left kneecap just moments earlier; it's her second ACL rupture in as many years.

Now that left knee is waiting to be wrapped in ice, crutches lie in wait. And she knows all too well of the onerous recovery that lies ahead.

Tarni White is assisted by trainers off the field after rupturing her ACL in last year's clash against Fremantle.

“I was heartbroken,” White told The Age.

“But I remember, when I got off into the changerooms, the Saints’ men’s captain Jarryn Geary came down from wherever he was watching. He came down and put his arm around me and asked if I was OK.

I think in that moment right there I realised that I wanted to be at St Kilda for a very long time.

- Tarni White

“Because of how authentic it was, to realise that this was a men’s player, he doesn’t have to do that but he’s just shown the love and the care, what the club’s about.”

White’s continual ability to find a break in the clouds – even through the challenges of being a young, suddenly unemployed, interstate draftee away from family during the COVID-19 lockdowns – has paid off.

Tonight, the 19-year-old Queenslander will return to the field for the Saints’ season opener against the Western Bulldogs at RSEA Park.

And it won’t just be friends, family, teammates and supporters that will be cheering her name when she springs off the half-back line.

“A few of the Saints boys are in touch asking how I’m going,” White said.

“You see them around the club and feel like you’re not just a ghost. It’s really nice.

“When someone famous remembers your name, it’s pretty cool.”

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