Raised in Melbourne, Perkins played netball and soccer before playing Australian rules football. At thirteen, Perkins was told she would no longer be able to play contact sports due to a spinal disc herniation, so she concentrated on netball for the next three years. However, she decided to start playing Australian rules football at sixteen, joining the Eastern Devils' youth side in 2009 and becoming a two-time Victorian under-18 representative before playing in the Devils' senior side in the Victorian Women's Football League in 2012. In 2016, she kicked fifty-two goals and finished third in the leading goalkicker award, behind Moana Hope and Katie Brennan, and was named in the VWFL team of the year. In the eighteen months before being recruited, she lost forty kilograms to fulfill her dream of playing AFL football.
AFL Women's career
After being overlooked in the 2016 AFL Women's draft, Perkins was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club as a free-agent. She debuted in the thirty-six point win over at Thebarton Oval in the opening round of the 2017 AFLW season. Labelled as the league's first cult hero by the ABC, she recorded eight disposals, three marks and a long-range goal, and earned the nickname "Tex" after The Cruel Sealead singer, Tex Perkins. In addition, her performance in the match drew comparisons to Adelaide captain and full-forward, Taylor Walker, who is also nicknamed "Tex". In her second match, she kicked two goals to help Adelaide defeat the at VU Whitten Oval by twenty-five points; her skills in the match led to Herald Sun journalist, Eliza Sewell, writing "she leads well and takes a strong grab...she uses her body well and a set-shot goal from forty-five metres impressed even the Bulldogs fans," Furthermore, Fox Sports Australia journalist, Sarah Olle, wrote "Perkins' leading patterns are terrific. She’s quick off the mark, uses her size to great effect, has a monstrous kick and loves a celebration" and the Australian edition of The Huffington Post said she is a player people need to know about and she is as strong as she is inspirational. Perkins kicked four goals and created scoring opportunities for her teammates in the seventh round win against, leading to her being named Player of the Week by the AFL Players Association. On 25 March2017 Perkins and the Adelaide Crows defeated the Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium to become the inaugural AFLW premiers. Perkins played an instrumental role in the Crow's success, and was named on the forward line in the 2017 All-Australian team. On 18 May 2017, Adelaide signed Perkins for the 2018 AFLW season.
