AFLW 2023: Chloe Molloy hopeful of Swans playing finals ahead of taking on former team Collingwood

The Swans are mounting an unlikely finals bid, but star recruit Chloe Molloy isn’t getting ahead of herself – particularly with the prospect of facing her former Pies teammates this weekend.

As the Collingwood players run onto Henson Park this Sunday for their AFLW clash against the Swans, they’ll spot a familiar face in the crowd.

Amid the sea of red and white, one woman will stand out in a Sydney guernsey, scarf and even a special pair of red love-heart glasses.

“Mum’s always here, she’s always got the glasses,” Chloe Molloy said. “She got them for game one and she hasn’t taken them off.”

But Molloy knows that her mum, Debbie, will have some mixed loyalties this weekend against the Pies.

It’s the first time the 24-year-old is coming up against her former side – one of three Swans to have previously played in the famous black and white.

“I think when you are part of something for so long, you have emotional ties and connections,” Molloy said. “As much as I was playing for that football club, Mum and Dad also supported me through all of that.

“I can absolutely see [Collingwood] players going up to Mum and Dad after the game, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. That was six years of my life.

“But she will be loyal to the Bloods. She’ll want the Pies to do well, but she’ll also want us to win.”

Debbie Molloy (2R) in her Swans scarf and glasses with Chloe and other members of her family. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

All eyes will be on Molloy on Sunday as she looks to lead the Swans to their fifth victory of the season.

The co-captain produced her best game of the year against the Bulldogs, finishing with an AFLW record 17 score involvements – “There were a couple of tagged posts and a couple of extra DMs,” she admits.

But while the outside noise is about Molloy’s match-up against her former teammates, there’s too much on the line for that to be her focus.

Sydney is on the verge of an unlikely top-eight finish after their winless inaugural season. Victories against the Pies and then away to Fremantle could be enough to propel them into the finals.

“In my whole AFLW career, the individual that I am, there’s always been a little bit of extra noise,” Molloy said. “So I’ve learned to block that out, I’m not too fazed by this weekend.

“There’s two crucial games and one of them just happens to be against my old side. It’s exciting that we have a program that goes from not winning a game to being in finals contention.

“To be able to progress that quickly, if I take my Sydney hat off and look at it, I‘ve never seen a team be able to do that.”

The Swans have rocketed up the ladder in just their second season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

While many will point to Molloy’s form as a huge spark for the Swans’ resurgence, she hasn’t played a lone hand in their rise up the table. In particular, it’s their talented crop of youngsters leading the charge.

Laura Gardiner has thrived since moving from Geelong. The 21-year-old is averaging 29 disposals a game and is third in the AFLCA’s AFLW Champion Player of the Year.

Teenagers Cynthia Hamilton and Montana Ham have built impressively on their debut seasons. While the Swans have also had three Rising Star nominations for Ally Morphett, Ella Heads and Sofia Hurley.

“I think I‘ve just reaped the benefits of how well we’ve played as a group,” Molloy said. “The score involvements [record], it meant that I was bringing others into the game. I played my part in that chain.

“I know when I first came in, you hit the scene and play well, you can get wrapped up a bit in your own world and get ahead of yourself because you’re young. What’s impressed me most is they haven’t … they are probably the most humble group I’ve ever come across.

“I look around and go, ‘God, you just don‘t realise how good you are’. I can’t wait to watch them break my records, because that’s something they’re going to do.”

Molloy is in awe of some of the young talent around her at the Swans. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The Swans might have been late to enter the AFLW, but they’ve certainly been quick to make their mark.

As they prepare for another big crowd at Henson Park on Sunday, which will only increase their reputation as the club with the highest attendances, Molloy knows she is leading a team that is playing for more than just immediate glory.

“I’ve enjoyed previous grounds that I’ve played at, but Henson is up there,” Molloy said. “The amount of people that get to our games is special and speaks volumes of what Sydney has been able to create.

“A big message we’re trying to push is long-term success. I don’t think we have a schedule, we’re shaping a culture and the way Sydney wants to play for the years to come.

“It would be quite ignorant to think too far ahead. To think, ‘We’ve achieved a lot, we should be happy’, that reverts to complacency. If we do that, we have games like the one against Hawthorn where that slips in.

“We are pushing the program to be better, pushing each other to be better and setting up the foundations for a strong football team that in years to come will always be pushing for finals.”