An insight into the role of Head Dietitian, Georgia Walker

03/05/2022

Head Dietitian at the Sandringham Zebras, Georgia Walker, talks about her journey into dietetics, her busy schedule and her role at the Club!

If you were trying to find Georgia Walker on any given day, then I wish you good luck!

She could be down at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval looking after the Zebra boys, up at Arden Street with the North Melbourne AFLW girls, at Sandringham Sports Physio, at a private practice at Olympic Park or even with the Melbourne Storm boys!

It is clear that Georgia is someone who likes to work hard, is ambitious and good at juggling her time.

Georgia began her journey as a dietitian years ago at Deakin University, where she studied a Bachelor of Nutrition. She then stayed on to study further and complete her Master of Dietetics. Georgia actually spent some time at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval back when she was still a student.

She always knew she wanted to get into the sports industry so was keen to do some volunteering, the door opened for her at Sandringham when she was at a clinic on uni placement and happened to be working with Sandringham’s Head Dietitian at the time. She spent a couple of years volunteering with the Zebras and got the most out of the experience as she could.

Later on she started working as a dietitian at Sandringham Sports Physio, a sponsor of the Sandringham Football Club, which once again opened the door for her at the Zebras. She came on as Head Dietitian and has been in this role since.

At North Melbourne Football Club, Georgia is the dietitian for their AFLW program. She’s done two seasons there already and will be heading into a third very shortly when the AFLW pre-season begins in a few months time.

Melbourne Storm is her most recent venture, being a full time program this means that the Storm boys will train in the mornings and throughout the day. This allows her to spread out her week and attend Sandringham and North Melbourne training sessions in the evenings. 

In terms of her role as a dietitian, more specifically at the Zebras, it begins in the pre-season. If there are new players coming to the Club, especially younger players, then Georgia’s role is all about showing them who she is and what she can do with them and for them, not only in pre-season but throughout the season and going forwards. She will also take the skin folds of the players 3-4 times across a season to help them track their body composition.

On a match day for the Zebras you will see Georgia get to the ground 2 hours before the first bounce, she will set up a snack table with a wide variety of food, including but not limited to: sandwiches, pikelets, fruit, pretzels and popcorn. These foods are high in carbs and also contain some salt which is helpful for fluid retention.

She also brings lolly snakes to a game but doesn't like to bring them out until right before the match. Along with the food, she also takes care of the players' fluids, organising the water and electrolytes. On top of this the players will weigh in and out of every game to help track their fluid loss.

When asked about her favourite cheat meal, Georgia noted that she’s not a big believer in cheat meals and instead prefers to have a balanced diet and enjoy every meal she eats. One of her favourite healthy options if she was buying food on the go is a Vietnamese Banh Mi, or Grill’d, which she organises for the players sometimes, especially at Melbourne Storm who Grill’d sponsor. If she wants to go down more of the 'unhealthy' route and order food, then sticking with the Asian theme of Banh Mi, she loves Thai food or most other Asian cuisines. 

Written by Mason Bursill - Sandringham Football Club Media