AFLW All-Australian team announced, with Demon Karen Paxman named skipper
The 2020 AFL Women’s All-Australian team has been named with a Demon anointed skipper — but it’s not Daisy Pearce. Check out the entire team, including a former Australian netballer and 11 debutants.
AFLW
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFLW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Caitlin Greiser was probably due for some good news.
The St Kilda revelation has been stood down from all three of her part-time jobs since coronavirus measures took hold across Australia, along with the AFL Women’s season being called to a premature end.
But the reward of All-Australian selection has been confirmed for the first year player, with coach and now co-worker Peta Searle the one to confirm the berth.
“She texted me first, because I’ve been working with her … three times a week,” Greiser said.
“She said, ‘Hey, G-Train, Jackson (her son) wants to video chat with you’.
“I got onto that and we were just having a chat and Pete was there, and then all of a sudden she was like ‘I’ve got something to tell you – you’ve been selected for the All-Australian team’. I was just like ‘you’re kidding me, that’s so awesome’. I did not expect it at all.
“She said ‘it would have been a bit suss if I was like ‘do you want to have a chat?’, because we’ve been chatting in the car so much. She went about it a different way, so it was really nice.
Relive classic AFL matches from the 60s to today on KAYO SPORTS. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly
“I’m so happy that Pete was the one to tell me, because I love her. She’s awesome and she’s so good for our team. I’m just so grateful to have her as a coach. She’s just amazing and she just makes it a family. I’m so grateful.”
Greiser, 21, had been working at the club’s next generation academy, in retail and as a before and after school carer while also playing AFLW, with all three jobs now on hold.
“That was tough,” she admitted.
The club was able to facilitate a number of part-time positions with a mail-sorting company, and Greiser – who is also studying at university – and Searle took it up with a few teammates, sharing the trip to and from their new workplace a few times a week.
“It’s good that we’re still connected,” she said.
“It’s good to get out of the house a bit to go to work.”
Greiser played all six games of the Saints’ inaugural AFLW season, booting 10 goals including a 55m bomb to win in Round 3 that marked her entrance to the competition as a serious force.
“Peta really believed in me and she really pushed me to be better,” she said.
“I’m so rapt that I’ve done her proud – that’s all I want to do, is do well for the team, but I definitely shocked myself.”
Greiser was one of 11 All-Australian debutants to be named in the team, including Magpie Sharni Layton who secured the position of ruck.
Demons star Karen Paxman – who has been selected in every AFLW All-Australian team – was anointed as skipper with Emma Kearney from the Roos named vice-captain.
Blues star Madison Prespakis was named as rover with teammate Tayla Harris on the bench.
Paxman, 31, took up football as a teenager and said it was only in recent years that her leadership had developed.
“I consider myself to lead through actions,” she said.
“It’s not something I feel is a natural or have felt has been a natural side to me, but you just have to work out ways that fit with you in a genuine kind of way.
“I always want to be authentic and myself. You just have to change your perception of what a leader is, and that’s what I had to do. I’m certainly proud and honoured among this group of girls – there’s a lot of leaders in that team. I’m really proud to have been thought of in that way.
MORE AFL
GWS star Heath Shaw reveals what his life has been like since AFL’s shutdown and self-isolation
Relive the night Western Bulldogs ended Essendon’s 20-game winning streak with ‘super flood’
Inside story behind Jim Stynes’ Brownlow Medal winning season of 1991
“I played footy when there was certainly nowhere near as much media around it. I genuinely loved playing. I really tried to remain authentic. That’s just who I am.”
The W Awards will be broadcast on Fox Footy tonight after coronavirus restrictions banned mass gatherings, with Paxman joking that she “might have a beer” to celebrate her nod amid the “totally weird” scenario.
“I’m not someone who enjoys getting dressed up, so this is perfect,” she laughed.
GIANT THOUGHT ALL-AUS CALL WAS A STITCH UP
– Jocelyn Airth
GWS GIANT Alyce Parker climbed off a tractor to take a call from head coach Al McConnell Monday afternoon.
The midfielder has been working on her family’s crop and sheep farm in Holbrook ever since COVID-19 brought the 2020 AFLW season to an abrupt halt.
It’s tough work, spending hours upon hours on the tractor, planting seeds and feeding the sheep. But Parker loves it.
The 23-year-old was so immersed in farm work that her inclusion in the 2020 AFL Women’s All-Australian Team came as a complete shock.
“Al McConnell told me, he stitched me up on Zoom, I thought we were having a meeting about another program I was part of,” Parker said.
“It’s a huge honour and completely unexpected. But to hear it from my head coach, who has had such an impact on my since I was drafted, was special.
In her second season for the GIANTS, Parker clocked an average of 21.1 disposals, 2.7 marks and 2.9 tackles per game.
She also led the competition for metres gained.
The midfielder credits her rise in form to the family culture and senior figures at GWS.
“Our captain Alicia Eva was my coach before I was drafted, the impact and influence she’s had on me started a long time before I was drafted and she continues to support me both on and off the field,” Parker said.
“And Amanda Farrugia, we were very sad to see her leave us through retirement, she continued to support me and had adopted a mentor role with me … not many people like her come around too often.”
LUTKINS TO BE HONOURED FOR DEFENCE
Chris Honnery
Brisbane Lions premier defender Kate Lutkins will be named in the prestigious AFLW All Australian side during tonight’s W Awards ceremony.
It will be the 31-year-old’s second time being named in the honorary all star side following yet another standout season with Brisbane in the shortened 2020 competition.
Lutkins was a key member in the Lions campaign after the club underwent a roster overhaul during the pre-season.
Brisbane began the season by defeating defending premiers Adelaide, and proved it was not a fluke by backing up to beat Geelong the following week.
Lutkins’ defensive effort proved pivotal to the Lions’ performance, but her goalkicking was just as valuable.
The 176cm defender also claimed the club’s 2020 Iconic Goal of the Year when she booted a mammoth goal against GWS in Round 4.
THE 2020 AFL WOMEN’S ALL-AUSTRALIAN TEAM
BACK: Sarah Allen (Adelaide Crows), Kate Lutkins (Brisbane Lions)
HALF BACKS: Kerryn Harrington (Carlton), Libby Birch (Melbourne), Isabelle Huntington (Western Bulldogs)
CENTRES: Emma Kearney (Vice Captain, Kangaroos), Kiara Bowers (Fremantle), Jaimee Lambert (Collingwood)
HALF FORWARDS: Olivia Purcell (Geelong Cats), Gemma Houghton (Fremantle), Jasmine Garner (Kangaroos)
FORWARDS: Caitlin Greiser (St Kilda), Kate Hore (Melbourne)
FOLLOWERS: Sharni Layton (Collingwood), Karen Paxman (Captain, Melbourne), Madison Prespakis (Carlton)
INTERCHANGE: Kalinda Howarth (Gold Coast SUNS), Alyce Parker (GWS GIANTS), Tayla Harris (Carlton), Ash Riddell (Kangaroos), Anne Hatchard (Adelaide Crows)
Originally published as AFLW All-Australian team announced, with Demon Karen Paxman named skipper