Raised in Melbourne,[1] Perkins played netball and soccer before playing Australian rules football.[2] At thirteen, Perkins was told she would no longer be able to play contact sports due to a spinal disc herniation, so she concentrated on netball for the next three years.
At the age of sixteen, she decided to start playing Australian rules football,[3] joining the East Burwood Devils (later known as the Eastern Devils) youth side in 2009 and becoming a two-time Victorian under-18 representative. In 2011, she won the best-and-fairest medal in the inaugural Yarra Junior Football League (YJFL) Youth Girls season.[4]
In 2012, she joined the Devils' senior side in the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) in 2012.[5] In 2016, she kicked fifty-two goals and finished third in the leading goalkicker award, behind Moana Hope and Katie Brennan, and was named in the VWFL team of the year.[6] In the eighteen months before being recruited, she lost 40 kilograms (88 lb) to fulfill her dream of playing AFL football, reducing her BMI from 45.1 to just 31.7.[7]
AFL Women's career
Perkins celebrating a goal in the round 6, 2017 match against Melbourne.
After being overlooked in the 2016 AFL Women's draft, Perkins was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club as a free-agent.[8] She debuted in the thirty-six point win over Greater Western Sydney at Thebarton Oval in the opening round of the 2017 AFLW season.[9] Labelled as the league's first cult hero by the ABC, she recorded eight disposals, three marks and a long-range goal, and earned the nickname "Tex" after The Cruel Sea lead singer, Tex Perkins.[10] In addition, her performance in the match drew comparisons to Adelaide captain and full-forward, Taylor Walker, who is also nicknamed "Tex".[11]
In her second match, she kicked two goals to help Adelaide defeat the Western Bulldogs at VU Whitten Oval by twenty-five points; her skills in the match led to Herald Sun journalist, Eliza Sewell, writing "she leads well and takes a strong grab...she uses her body well and a set-shot goal from forty-five metres impressed even the Bulldogs fans,"[12] Furthermore, Fox Sports Australia journalist, Sarah Olle, wrote "Perkins' leading patterns are terrific. She’s quick off the mark, uses her size to great effect, has a monstrous kick and loves a celebration"[13] and the Australian edition of The Huffington Post said she is a player people need to know about and she is as strong as she is inspirational.[14]
Perkins kicked four goals and created scoring opportunities for her teammates in the seventh round win against Collingwood, leading to her being named Player of the Week by the AFL Players Association.[15]
On 25 March 2017 Perkins and the Adelaide Crows defeated the Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium to become the inaugural AFLW premiers. Perkins played an instrumental role in the Crows' success, and was named on the forward line in the 2017 All-Australian team.[16]
On 18 May 2017, Adelaide signed Perkins for the 2018 AFLW season.[17]
In 2019, Sarah was delisted from Adelaide.
In 2020, Sarah was added as an injury replacement player to the Melbourne list.
In the 2020 AFLW Draft, Sarah was selected at pick 23 to the Gold Coast Suns.
^"Yarra JFL 2011 Annual Report"(PDF). Wayback Machine. Yarra Junior Football League. p. 23. Retrieved 21 March 2018. S. Perkins 1st East Burwood Devils
