(Nikki played for Norwood under her maiden name "Gore", and later married and became Nikki Nield).
Growing up in Christies Beach, a thirteen year old Nikki Gore decided to fulfil her ambitions to play Australian Rules Football and joined the local Christies Beach Football Club. With the exception of one other young girl, the rest of the team were all boys.
Nikki’s dream was to play football for the Redlegs on the hallowed turf of Norwood Oval but the club did not have a team at that time. However, she was able to be the mascot for the men’s team on the day they won the 2014 premiership, defeating Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in a four point thriller.
At u/14 level, Gore captained the boy’s team at Christies Beach for two years. Then, at the age of 16 years, 2 months and six days, Gore was a member of the inaugural women’s team that played its first game against North Adelaide at Norwood Oval on 17 February, 2017. Gore fulfilled a number of her wishes on that momentous night - to play top level SANFL football; to play for Norwood; to play at the Parade; and to win. On top of that, she was nominated as the Round 1 Powerade Star Search nominee for her 17 disposals, 12 kicks, 2 marks, 5 handballs and 6 tackles.
Gore nearly missed the game however, as a severe bout of gastro meant she only confirmed her fitness to play on the morning of the game. Remarkably, she played on the wing and at half forward, which was the first time in her career that she had played in those positions having played her entire career as a junior in the midfield.
Unfortunately, Gore’s very promising debut for Norwood was also her final game for the club. Her family had planned a trip to the USA long before the introduction of the first season of the SANFLW, and Gore flew out just a few days after the game. Her time away would see her miss every minor round game after round one, but be back in time for the Grand Final if Norwood qualified. Norwood did qualify and won the premiership, but Gore was not selected to play after six weeks away from football, her coach and her team mates.
In 2018, Gore moved to South Adelaide which was very close to her home. Norwood’s promising junior has gone on to have a decorated football career at South Adelaide, and also AFLW clubs Adelaide and Fremantle. She also played two VFLW games for the NT Thunder.
Gore has won numerous premierships and individual awards, including an AFLW premiership with Adelaide in 2022 (season 6), and in 2024 she was awarded the SANFLW League Best and Fairest Medal.
Chris Brown, October 2024