VIKKI WALL HAS confirmed that she will return to North Melbourne for the 2024 AFLW season before resuming her Ireland Rugby Sevens career later this year.

The Meath multi-sport star missed out on selection for the upcoming Olympic Games but insists it’s about the “bigger picture” as she prepares to travel to Paris to support her team-mates.

Wall will return to Australia in mid-August, joining a large Irish contingent for the new AFLW season. The 26-year-old had previously parked her AFLW career to pursue Sevens.

“I went on the inactive list last year when I decided to go to rugby,” she tells The 42.

“North Melbourne were so good to me. I’m going back now in mid-August, back over to North Melbourne for my second year of contract and then I’ll be back in December to Rugby Sevens.”

With 35 Irish players confirmed for the AFLW new season, which begins the last weekend in August, Wall will link up with Erika O’Shea, Niamh Martin and Blaithin Bogue at North Melbourne.

Rugby. AFLW. Gaelic football. Wall is quite the all-rounder.

Asked about balancing sports and constantly switching her focus, the two-time All-Ireland winner points to the ‘Seven Lessons with Rugby 7s’ campaign she is promoting.

“For me, it’s definitely been a learning process,” the Dunboyne native says.

For the last while, everything was so Olympics focused. You’re all in, you’re trying to get picked, you’re trying to do everything you can so you block everything else out, whereas then you have to deal with those few weeks of, ‘I didn’t get picked, what does my life look like now?’ Dip in motivation, all those things.

“You have to be able to rely on the people around you and use the resources at hand. It’s not an easy transition, no matter what way you do it, and especially after having a bit of disappointment, you’re trying to go back in and completely switch your mindset.

“A lot of the [AFLW] girls reached out when the Olympics didn’t go your way so it’s nice to know that I have them back in my corner as well. I’ll hopefully be able to go back and contribute to North Melbourne in a positive way.” 

Wall can’t speak highly enough about her journey with the Sevens so far. She won’t shy away from how challenging and difficult it has been at times, but the overall experience has been thoroughly enjoyable.

She won’t let the Olympics disappointment overshadow it all too, as she and five or six other players who didn’t make the final squad head to Paris to support over the coming days.

“We’ve had a few weeks now to dwell on it and grieve the process, which I think is normal to do,” Wall says. “But it’s bigger picture.

“It’s bigger than just one individual. If you look at the occasion that the Olympics is, the bottom line is that it’s an unbelievable achievement for women’s rugby and Irish Sevens to be there. We were still training with the girls before they went away, you kind of just have to park your emotions and leave them at the gate when you’re going into training every morning because you still do have a job to do, as tough as that might be.

“I have definitely leant on friends and family the last while. It’s a tough period, no matter what competition you’re not chosen for, but I’m just unbelievably proud of the girls getting there.

I was having this conversation last week with my Mam and Dad, if I knew at the start of the year coming into the Rugby Sevens that I’d end up in this position — didn’t get to go to the Olympics but experienced what I have experienced and learned throughout the year — I would go back and I would do it again. For me, that’s fairly comforting.”

Wall also momentarily returned to her Gaelic football roots in recent weeks.

She was asked back into the Meath set-up ahead of their All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry and decider to accept the offer after conversations with some team-mates and Royals sports psychologist Kelley Fay.

The 2021 All-Star and Footballer of the Year came off the bench at half time and scored a point, but Meath ultimately fell to a 0-16 to 0-8 defeat in Tralee.

“Again, that week is bigger than one person,” Wall says, “and we weren’t overly pleased as Meath people to go down and lose a quarter-final to Kerry again, but the week I had was so enjoyable.

“I was like a giddy goat going to training on the Sunday morning, driving up to Bective! It was an unbelievable week to go back to a bit of football but obviously not the outcome we wanted.”