Early life
Originally from the small coastal town of Exmouth,Western Australia, Strom's two older brothers, Zach and Noah, both play in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) for South Fremantle. [1]
Growing up, she was a competitive sports enthusiast, participating in various sports such as netball, basketball and Australian rules football, [2] and playing junior football for the Exmouth Eagles. [3]
In 2019, she played for South Fremantle in the WAFLW, before transferring to the Swan Districts' league side later that year. [4] She played in the inaugural 2019 WAFLW Grand Final for Swan Districts, and was named as one of the best players during the match. [5] Strom represented Western Australia in the 2019 AFL Women's Under-18 Championships. [6]
AFLW career
Strom was drafted by Fremantle with their second selection, 21st overall, in the 2019 AFL Women's draft. [7]
Her sister, Indi Strom, also plays for Fremantle in the AFLW. [8]
2020: Debut season
After fellow ruckwoman Aine Tighe suffered an ACL injury during the 2020 AFL Women's pre-season, [9] Strom was tasked with playing as the sole ruck for the Fremantle Dockers in 2020. [10] She was named to make her debut in round one of the 2020 AFLW season against Geelong at Fremantle Oval, with former Fremantle ruckman and great Aaron Sandilands presenting her match guernsey. [11] Strom said of the experience: [12]
"I was presented with my playing jumper for round one by Aaron Sandilands! I don’t think you could ask for a better legend of the game to present your jumper"
She had fourteen hit-outs and collected seven disposals during the match, and was named as one of the Dockers best players in the afl.com match report following the 16-point win. [13] Strom finished her debut year having played all six games of the home and away season, as Fremantle went undefeated to sit atop the AFLW ladder. [14] She gathered 14 hit-outs and 9 disposals in the semi-finals as Fremantle dominated a first-year Suns team to run out 70-point winners at Fremantle Oval. [15] Unfortunately for Strom and her teammates, the season was ultimately cancelled without a winner, due to fears of a potential pandemic stemming from the newly discovered COVID-19 respiratory virus. [16]
2023
In 2023, she finished third place in Fremantle's fairest and best award count, polling 123 votes. She was also named in the initial 42-woman All-Australian squad. [17]
2024: Breakout season and breaking records
Strom's breakout 2024 season was recognised with selection as the first ruck in the 2024 AFL Women's All Australian Team, and winning the Fremantle fairest and best award. [18]
Strom currently holds the record for most hit-outs in a single game, a record she broke twice during the 2024 AFL Women's season: [19]
- 55 hit-outs in the 2024 elimination finals
- 48 hit-outs in weeks one and eight, 2024 (tied with Jess Allan)
- 47 hit-outs in week seven, 2024 (tied with Jess Allan and Erin McKinnon)
She set a new league record for hit-outs in round one, amassing 48 hit-outs in her 50th game. [20] She would equal this record in week eight, [21] before setting a new league record in the elimination finals with 55 hit-outs, making her the first player to record more than 50 hit-outs in a match. [22] Mim also holds the record for most hit-outs in a home-and-away season with 390. [22]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
