Sydney Swans’ star youngster Zippy Fish was not surprised her name garnered some attention last season.
“Growing up, everyone was like, ‘Is that actually your name?’ Like, ‘Yeah, it’s my name,'” Fish laughed, talking to ABC Sport ahead of the upcoming season.
“I thought it would be quite a big feature [coming into AFLW].
“I love my name. Well, my full name is actually Zipporah, but I actually kind of forget that myself sometimes, because everyone just calls me Zippy … Very grateful for my name.”
The attention Fish attracted after being drafted was immediate. She announced herself on the AFLW stage in her first game against Richmond last year, equalling the all-time AFLW record for most disposals in a debut match, with 26 touches.
Zippy Fish became known for her run off halfback and blistering speed. (Getty: Darrian Traynor)
Her blistering speed and ability to launch off halfback made her an instant fan favourite.
This was then cemented by her easy-going nature.
In her first post-match boundary interview with Fox, she said: “I don’t really get nervous for anything really, I just went out and did my thing.”
Over the course of her first season at the Swans, a new moniker developed. She started to be called “Zippy Ya Ya”.
“That nickname came from [fellow Swans AFLW player] Imogen Brown, and it was so random, how it got out of here [the club],” Fish said.
“She does this thing, she just puts ‘Ya Ya’ at the end of everyone’s name. And it just stuck on my name.”
Halfway through the season, fans made this into a shirt.
Zippy Fish with the fan-made “Zippy Ya Ya Fan Club” shirt. (ABC: Marnie Vinall)
Her teammate Jasmine Grierson bought the shirt from League Tees. The team had a fines wheel last season and if someone spun the wheel and landed on it, they had to wear the shirt for the day.
Fish said she never landed on it.
While her move to the Swans is one she says she is deeply grateful for — it’s hard to catch Fish without a giant smile plastered on her face — she does admit there are times she gets homesick.
The now-20-year-old is from Newman, a small country town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, approximately 13 hours north-east of Perth.
When drafted to Sydney, she had to move across the width of the country as a teenager.
“It was definitely tough. I’m a big family person, and I love my family, and obviously my boyfriend’s back there, so it sucks. But I think it’s made me grow as a person,” Fish said.
Zippy Fish won the Rising Star in 2025 after a sensational debut season. (Getty: Michael Willson/AFL Photos)
She was drafted from the East Fremantle Sharks at pick number five after running in the WAFL as a teenager with Molly O’Hehir, now at the Melbourne Demons, and Claudia Wright, now at the Brisbane Lions.
You can often hear draftees say how coming into AFLW is a bit of a surprise because you go from playing against girls to playing against women. But Fish said the Western Australian league prepared them well.
“I’d always been around footy and I watched a lot of W, so kind of knew what I was going into,” Fish said.
What can we expect from her this season?
“Same as last year, pretty much, I reckon,” she said.
“Just a little bit of run off halfback, maybe try and get forward and kick some more goals. And you’ll probably just see me smiling out on the field, having a ball.”
Fish will have a chance to become even more of a household name as she represents Australia in the upcoming Australia vs Ireland AFLW representative game in August.
She will be one of just two Swans players donning the green and gold, alongside fellow fan-favourite Chloe Molloy.
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