Football might be enjoying its moment in the sun following the hugely successful Women’s World Cup, but one of the country’s top goalkeepers has warned it has much to do to keep pace with other Australian sporting codes after she swapped the A-League Women for AFLW.

Long-time Matildas squad member Casey Dumont was named Melbourne Victory’s players’ player of the year in May after a career-best season, but is now preparing for the upcoming AFLW season as a rookie for Hawthorn. The 31-year-old says the difference in professionalism between the codes is “huge”.

“One is through the roof because they’ve got the resources, they’ve got the money, they’ve got the backing of the nation, they’ve got the men’s competition which is successful,” she says. “And then you have the other.”

Dumont is following a path that is not unprecedented. More than 20 AFLW players have come through football pathways including another former Matildas goalkeeper – and now Collingwood captain – Brianna Davey.

Yet Dumont’s high-profile defection highlights the challenge faced by football in a competitive sporting marketplace. She is only months removed from being part of the Matildas squad. In April during the A-League Women finals she scored a penalty in a shootout victory for her former club Melbourne Victory.

Not long after, she was given the news she wasn’t in Tony Gustavsson’s plans early this year. “I’d been in the extended squad and then reached out to be like, ‘well, what do I need to do to get better and possibly be selected over who’s there?’,” she says. “And yeah, just got that lovely conversation of, ‘we’re not gonna pick you’.”

But if one door closed, another quickly opened. It arrived via an Instagram message from Hawthorn’s AFLW coach Bec Goddard, followed by a face-to-face chat. “I just went in open and, also, I guess I didn’t have any expectations because it’s a completely new adventure.”

Dumont is now preparing for her debut season of AFLW as a 31-year-old rookie, and had her first taste of the Sherrin in a trial last week. “I got a few minutes and I’m proud I went out there and did a few of the tasks that they asked me to do,” she says.

On Wednesday night against England, the Matildas set television ratings records. The Saturday before, they produced one of the greatest sporting spectacles Australia has seen in the shootout victory over France. The success of the tournament and her former teammates has prompted mixed emotions for Dumont, but she is “mainly absolutely ecstatic and happy, the positives outweigh the negatives because the team has just done amazingly well”.

Although she has moved away from football, she remains a proud advocate for the sport. “Hopefully the momentum continues because if they can use what the Matildas are doing, and the success of the World Cup leading into the A-League, it’s just going to grow,” she says. “It’s just a case of the A-League also needs to register that they need to put more effort in and they need to put more resources in because for it to grow, it’s got to grow in every aspect.”

Dumont’s calls echo the views of other top players. Matildas captain Sam Kerr said after the defeat against England women’s football needs “funding everywhere”. Injured Matildas and Melbourne Victory defender Elise Kellond-Knight said at the A-League Women season unveiling on Friday that the local women’s league needs to play at better stadiums, the players need access to better training facilities, and both staff and players need to be on 12-month contracts.

“I’m really hoping that the A-League grabs this opportunity with two hands and rides the momentum, because the elite can grow – men and women,” Dumont says. “There is so much to catch up to what the other sports are like.”

For Hawthorn’s “other sports” rookie, that’s someone else’s problem for now. Dumont is too busy learning the ins and outs of Australian rules football ahead of the Hawks’ first match against Essendon on 2 September. She says she is loving the new experience, noting the physical preparation has been different and she is now “stronger and bulkier”. “There are areas that are a bit weaker than others but it’s a lot of different muscle groups, and it’s more than contact that was a bit of a shock to begin with,” she says.

The finer points of the game are coming along too. “I wasn’t brought up with AFL so it’s not even in my blood. The fact that I’ve been able to pick it up and understand it, I’m proud of.”

Hawthorn only entered the AFLW last season and finished fourth from bottom. Dumont wants to help establish a culture at the club that goes deeper than skill and strength.

“Yes, it might not be for AFL but I’ve been a professional athlete for a very long time, so I’ve had the ups and downs,” she says. “I’ve had the injuries, I’ve had the major tournaments and the nerves and excitement that comes from that, but also I know what you have to commit to in being an adult but also being an elite athlete. That was the main reason why Bec [Goddard] saw something in me is that I can bring that experience to the team.”