Ellie McKenzie wasn’t going to sit around and let someone else live out her dream.

So she forged her own path.

McKenzie's journey to Tigerland first started when she played with the Fitzroy Junior Football Club's Under 10s boys’ team, due to a lack of girls’ teams on offer. 

With very few junior girls playing Aussie rules at the time, and limited pathways available, McKenzie followed in her brother’s footsteps, Tom McKenzie, who now plays for Richmond's VFL team, and picked up footy.

“I was probably six or seven doing Auskick, and I was one of the only girls down there,” McKenzie said.

“I followed my brother, and I just wanted to be like him. My family is footy mad as well, so I went on to the Fitzroy Junior Football Club, where again I was one of two girls in our entire Club at the time.

“Eventually, we got to the point where the Club finally had some girls’ teams, and you then realise the dream going forward.

“I joined the Under 15s girls at Fitzroy and loved it there. I felt like I had so many more connections than I had before playing with the boys.”

McKenzie continued to rise through the ranks, joining the Northern Knights Football Club in the NAB League Girls competition, where she co-captained alongside current Western Bulldog, Jess Fitzgerald.

Showing great promise as a junior, she went on to represent Vic Metro teams, earning All-Australian honours as a bottom-age player in the 2019 AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships. 

Based on her raw talent and work ethic, Richmond selected McKenzie with the first overall pick in the 2020 AFLW draft.

However, the Northcote local had already crossed paths with the Club many years before her draft night, first entering Punt Road for a come and try day when she was just 14 years old.

“One of our neighbours was Jake Niall, who is a journalist, and I think he ended up having a conversation with Kate Sheahan, being like 'there is this girl who plays footy at Fitzroy and you should have a look at her',” McKenzie said.

“The Club had a talent search, and I think they were having their VFL team come in the following year, so I came down to have a kick, and Kane Lambert was down there with (Dan) Butler, so they ran the session.

“It was a full circle moment to come back here after that, so I was here at Tigerland for a while.”

Going into her first season as the number one pick in the country, McKenzie admitted she did feel some internal pressure to perform on the big stage.

“I felt more so that internal pressure, knowing what I wanted to bring, and I wanted to play my best every week,” McKenzie said.

“I wanted to show everyone what I could do, and I felt that internal pressure.

“I think leading up to Round 1 and being picked, there is a bit of fanfare around social media and stuff, so I think that added a little bit of a nervous layer for me.

“I was part of such a good team and a great group of girls as well, so I felt really protected and cared for too.”

The 22-year-old handled the pressure well, picking up a Rising Star nomination in the Club's first-ever win, coming against Geelong in 2021.

McKenzie went on to win AFLW’s Best First Year player and came second in Richmond’s AFLW Best and Fairest that year.

“That first year was a great experience, we had our first win as a Club as well, so to be a part of that, it’s history,” McKenzie said.

“I took a lot out of that year, I came equal second with KB (Katie Brennan) in the BNF, so you sort of go to that night and realise, ok, maybe I can play at this high level.

“It installed a bit more belief in myself, and there were lots of lessons that came out of that year, and it was also Ferg’s first year as coach, too, so I think we were all learning the ropes.

“They were the foundations we built going into the following years from there.”

Now 39 games into her career, McKenzie said she has learnt a lot playing alongside superstar teammates Brennan and Monique Conti.

“KB has been a massive one, and I think playing alongside one of the best players, if not the best player in the comp in Mon Conti, has been unreal,” McKenzie said.

“Learning midfield craft from her and just seeing how she goes about it, playing two sports and being so professional in both, I think you can learn a lot off her."

Now, entering her fifth season, McKenzie was voted in by her teammates to be a part of the side's leadership group, alongside captain Brennan, Gabby Seymour, Tessa Lavey, Conti and Beth Lynch.

“I’m grateful to be a part of the group this year, and it's something I have had aspirations for since I was an Under-18s player,” McKenzie said.

“To be voted in by your peers, I think it is one of the biggest privileges in football that you can have.

“Just continuing to learn from people like KB, Mon, Gab and Tess, along with Beth Lynch, who is a first-time in the leadership group too, it will be cool to go through that with her.

“I think the layer that I add is that I’m a bit of a football nuffie, so that football IQ and my investment into football as a whole, I’m hoping I can drive standards with that."