Courtney Gum
From Snoutslouts
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Biographical
- Born: 25 September 1981
- Height 170 cm
- Weight _ kg
- GFC League Debut: : vs West Adelaide Rd 1, 17 February 2017
Guernsey Number: 23
Courtney Gum was a tough midfielder with a deadly right foot and a towering overhead mark. Although only playing one season with Glenelg, 2017, she won both the club's and the League's best and fairest awards, as well as the SANFLW Coaches' Award.
Gum grew up in the Flinders Ranges on a broadacre wheat and sheep farm, seven kilometres from Booleroo Centre. Although enjoying playing kick-to-kick with her brothers and schoolmates, she played netball at weekends. When she moved to Adelaide to study physiotherapy at university she played with Cougars netball club.
After travelling and working overseas, Gum returned to Adelaide at age 26 and commenced a masters of environmental management, partly in Adelaide and then Sydney. Through an old friend she ended up at UNSW football club, and played her first real game of football at age 29. She made a name for herself playing for UNSW-ES Bulldogs, winning the 2012 Mostyn Medal as AFL Sydney's Best and Fairest.
Moving back to Adelaide in 2015 she started playing football with Morphettville Park club. She nominated for the 2016 AFLW draft but disappointingly she was overlooked. Then when SANFLW commenced with 4 teams in 2017 Gum was selected by Glenelg and was on the train-on squad for the Crows, which gave her a glimmer of hope for AFLW. That year she won not only the Glenelg best and fairest, but also the inaugural SANFLW best and fairest, and SANFLW Coaches' award.
When South Adelaide entered the competition for season 2018 she transferred to them. She was then drafted in October 2017 by GWS Sydney and relocated for the AFLW football season to Sydney. In her debut season for the GWS Giants she won the AFL Players Association’s MVP, was named All Australian and finished runner up in the Gabrielle Trainor Medal (GWS's best and fairest).
Gum followed her impressive 2018 AFLW season by winning the 2018 SANFLW Premiership with South Adelaide. She played a further season with GWS and then announced her retirement in March at the end of the 2019 season.
She was talked out of this retirement by Adelaide Crows AFLW coach Matthew Clarke. Nominating for the following draft period she was indeed selected by Adelaide with the 83rd overall pick in the 2019 AFL Women's draft held in October of that year. At the completion of the SANFLW season in 2020 Gum retired, again, from football.
