All the AFLW news as Geelong prepares for supplementary draft

Captain Meg McDonald and coach Dan Lowther jetted off as part of a last-ditch effort to land a star Gaelic player who could transform Geelong’s forward line.

Meg McDonald went from captain to recruiter. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

A late trip from AFLW captain Meg McDonald and coach Dan Lowther to Ireland helped Geelong’s last-minute effort to sign star Irish forward Aishling Moloney.

Moloney and her teammate with Gaelic side Tipperary, Anna Rose Kennedy, were both unveiled as rookie signings by the Cats as they round out their list before the start of the next AFLW season in May.

Cats coach Dan Lowther. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Cats had secured the signature of running defender Kennedy but it wasn’t until leaders McDonald, who paid her own way on the trip, and Lowther flew in to Ireland that they were able to lock in Moloney.

Winner of the 2019 players’ player of the year and a two-time All-Ireland team member, Moloney took interest from other AFLW clubs including the Brisbane Lions.

Geelong had been into the mobile forward for multiple years, before she tore her ACL and missed the 2022 season.

Moloney is part of Geelong’s overhaul of its forward half, having recruited Port Adelaide’s Kate Surman after in recent years landing Jackie Parry and Chloe Scheer.

Both Moloney and Kennedy will stay with Tipperary through to the end of the season, which runs until mid-April.

From Tipperary to Geelong 💙

Gaelic footballers Aishling Moloney and Anna Rose Kennedy will join the Cats for Season 8!

Read 📘 https://t.co/I2Mlcijp7i#WeAreFootballpic.twitter.com/MklJ9LZO8s

— Geelong Cats Womens (@catswomens) March 28, 2023

The Cats leaders took the chance to build on Geelong’s strong hold in Ireland – the club has Mayo’s Rachel Kearns on its AFLW list as well as Zach Tuohy, Mark O’Connor and Oisin Mullin on the AFL list – by holding a clinic and putting in some scouting.

They also visited Kearns and her family on the trip.

Geelong’s AFLW boss Brett Johnson said the club was “thrilled” Kennedy and Moloney had picked the Cats.

“Aishling is well credentialed in the GAA and we believe she will adapt well as a mobile tall forward in the AFLW,” he said.

“Anna Rose is an exciting young prospect who brings plenty of pace and we see her slotting in either with our defence or as another option on the wing.”

With Kennedy and Moloney on board as rookies, Kearns has been upgraded to Geelong’s main list.

Former netballer Sammy Gooden has been listed as inactive after giving birth to her daughter Billie this month, leaving the Cats with one hole to fill on their list at next week’s supplementary draft.

Geelong will enter Tuesday’s draft with the No.1 choice.

Laura Gardiner opens up on trade to Sydney

Former Geelong onballer Laura Gardiner says she was “a little bit unsure” of her role at the Cats and expects to “step up my footy” after being traded to Sydney.

The prolific young midfielder secured a move to the Swans late in the AFLW trade period, with the Cats landing the No.1 pick at Tuesday’s supplementary draft in exchange.

Laura Gardiner dominate VFLW. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Geelong was keen to keep the local in the hoops but after being stuck behind the likes of Georgie Prespakis, Amy McDonald and Nina Morrison in the midfield rotation, a new opportunity caught Gardiner’s interest.

“I did play 10 out of the 11 games last season which was great for me and I was rapt about it,” she said.

“But I knew we had great players and it was a great club so I was a little unsure what my role was each week and I went to play a bit forward, which was good to add to my game, but I thought this opportunity with Sydney came at the prefect time and it was something where I could step up my footy.”

A top-shelf runner, Gardiner set records for disposals in the VFLW but was forced to play as a forward for much of her AFLW time with the Cats.

“At that time, I was just happy to be I the team,” she said.

“I thought what I was doing was helping the team and I had to try and make the most of it.”

When Sydney reached out to the 20-year-old she “pretty much straight away knew it was something I wanted to do”.

The ambitious Swans have laid out a plan to rise form a winless first season to become the first expansion club to win an AFLW premiership, a plan that won Gardiner over immediately.

“It was probably a bit of a shock, the trade window was coming to an end and I didn’t really expect anything to happen,” she said.

“But my options were open and with my lifestyle, it wasn’t a thing I couldn’t do.

“They went over (the plan) and it just makes you feel like a really important part of that journey.”

Originally published as All the AFLW news as Geelong prepares for supplementary draft