My Life

Emily Bates loves living in Queensland.

She grew up in the Sunshine State and despite multiple offers to move south to Melbourne, it’s where her heart will always be. But a youth spent playing sport outdoors under the harsh Aussie sun has come at a cost.

A routine skin check at age 22 led to her being told by dermatologists she’s “allergic” to the sun..

Doctors found six basal cell carcinomas. “I was pretty shocked,” the Brisbane Lions midfielder recalls. “I was told I shouldn’t be living in Queensland. It was a bit confronting at the start but I can manage it.”

The 26-year-old is surprisingly pragmatic about dealing with skin cancer.

“I’ve had quite a few surgeries to get rid of them. They are mostly on my forehead and scalp where I used to part my hair as a kid, as well as my neck and my collarbone,” she says.

Emily recently had another round of surgery while playing elite-level football.

“I have scars everywhere and I just recently had one cut out of my forehead. I looked like Harry Potter for a while,” she says.

The 2021 premiership player has a clear message for those who spend time outdoors: reapply sunscreen every two hours and regularly check your skin using the SCAN motto: sore, changing, abnormal and new.

Emily now has a skin check every three to six months.

“I have a few (basal cell carcinomas) on my forehead that keep popping up. I’ve had three incisions of one in my forehead line, then another in the middle of my forehead,” she reports.

Despite the challenge of dealing with the ever-present threat of skin cancer, she is at the top of her game.

In the off-season, she took her fitness to the next level.

“I made a real effort to partner myself with the best runners at the club,” she says. “Girls that I’ve never beaten before I was beating — but I won’t name names.”

Emily has changed her diet and is healthier than ever.

“I used to eat quite a bit of dessert and overindulge at times. I’m an ice-cream kind of gal,” she says. “But once I changed the habit, all of a sudden you’re not having it anymore.”

She has also adopted a mindset of striving to always improve.

“Sometimes you can get into the habit of telling yourself what you can’t do, but when you stop thinking like that and say, ‘Why not? Why can’t I do that?’ you take away those selflimiting thoughts,” she says.

Loyalty is of utmost importance to Emily.

“We are like a family,” she says of the Lions and her coach Craig Starcevich, who famously did a “shoey” (drinking alcohol out of a shoe, a move F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo made famous) to celebrate her best and fairest win.

She recalls that when she took out the award, her mum shed tears of joy.

“My mum is my biggest cheerleader,” Emily says. Emily, to focus solely for the first time on playing.

“Year on year, the comp will get better. This is just the beginning,” she says.

@EMBATESY

“She thinks I am the best thing in the world. She says that was one of the best moments of her life.”

Emily’s father Lloyd died when she was 15.

He was a key figure in her decision to take up football and he remains her inspiration.

“My dad was a special man and he got me into footy and I am where I am today because of him,” she says.

Although she has been playing AFLW since its inception, she is far from finished.

Season seven is in full swing and all players have received a 94 per cent pay increase, which has enabled many, including

OPPOSITE: Emily Bates won last season’s AFLW best and fairest award; ABOVE: Lion Emily in action; (inset top) the future champion and (left) with beagle Lenny.

While footy dominates her life, it is a furry friend Emily turns to when she needs to escape.

“I have a dog called Lenny. She is a little beagle and she keeps me entertained,” she says. “I love going for walks and putting in my AirPods and listening to music or a podcast and just sort of being in the moment with her.” On or off the field, it seems Emily’s moment has well and truly arrived.

Chemist Warehouse is a major sponsor of the 2022 AFLW season.