Commonwealth Games: Goulburn's Ellen Ryan hunts lawn bowls medal

Her mother could never get her off it growing up, after she got her first taste of lawn bowls at age 10.

Some 15 years later, Ryan is set to make her debut on the biggest stage of her sport - the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

"My uncle just invited my family and I to the Goulburn Bowling Club when I was 10, and I just loved it," she said.

"I started playing twilight bowls at the club there and I thought that was pretty cool because I could win money, like $20-30.

"I stuck with it, I trained really hard, and I was always out on the green. My mum could never get me home."

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Ryan made her senior debut for Australia in 2017 and was one spot off the Commonwealth Games team the next year.

Following her "setback", she worked and trained even harder to make sure she would make it to Birmingham.

She has since racked up 100 caps in the green and gold, but her debut next month means a lot, especially since she will compete in the singles and pairs events alongside her best friend Kristina Krstic.

"It's really special for both of us," she said.

"It's been a lifelong goal and dream of mine, but to be able to represent at Commonwealth Games with my best friend and debut together is so exciting.

"I'm still over the moon."

Australia won five gold medals in the Gold Coast four years ago, three of them in women's events.

Although the greens were "a lot slower" in the Northern Hemisphere, Ryan was aiming for the podium.

The idea of taking home a medal for the 25-year-old can not be understated.

"It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it," she said.

"I'll try not to put too much pressure on myself. But I know I can do it, so I'll work my little heart out."

Ryan will head to England on July 11 for a two-week training camp before the Games kick off later that month.

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