Geelong recruit Alexis Gregor on lengthy injury battle, her best position and reuniting with an ex-teammate

Alexis Gregor was one of the AFLW’s biggest draft bolters to land at Geelong in the top 10, despite injury robbing her of more than a year of her junior career. Plus, the Cats’ crystal clear draft strategy.

Geelong used its top-10 pick in the 2024 AFLW draft on Alexis Gregor. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Geelong recruit Alexis Gregor never lost faith in a return to football from a debilitating 18-month back injury.

Forced to sit out her bottom-age year, as two bulging discs in her back flared up – she described it as both a genetic and overuse injury– the top 10 pick at Monday’s AFLW draft was also forced to battle its effects away from the game.

“It was really hard, kind of had to rest for a year, do nothing,” Gregor recalled.

“Mentally it was very draining, I couldn’t really escape it.

“It wasn’t just when I was playing sport, it was throughout the day, at school, my back would be just killing me sitting there.

“I just had to rely on my friends and my family and lean on them and just trust the process that my trainers were doing the right thing for me.”

Alexis Gregor earned Vic Country selection in 2024. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos

Despite the tough road to get back doing what she loved, a return was never in doubt.

“I always knew I was going to get back, I’d wouldn’t let the thought of not getting back in my mind,” she said.

“It just never made sense to me that I wouldn’t play footy again.”

Time in rehab and the gym saw Gregor back on field in 2024, her strong Bendigo Pioneers’ campaign culminating in both Vic Country selection and a national combine invitation.

But going top 10 in the national draft never cross Gregor’s mind.

The Cats pounced on the key utility with their first pick of the night at 10, and though Gregor knew of a handful of clubs’ interest, including Essendon and Richmond, it wasn’t until late in the draft process the Cats showed their interest of the 18-year-old.

Speaking for the first time at the national combine, Gregor would later tour Kardinia Park with coach Dan Lowther and list manager Ben Waller.

A fan of the club’s vibe, there was still no assurance of Gregor landing at the Cats.

“Going in, I had no idea where I was going, what spot in the draft … I knew a few clubs were interested but not within the first 10 picks,” Gregor said.

“I can’t believe it, I’m so happy.”

And in a case of “freaky” superstition, the Cats’ selection of Gregor at 10 tied nicely to her dad Cain’s time at southern Mallee club Woomelang-Lascelles Cats, where he’d don the number 10.

Older sisters Mia and Eve – big Geelong supporters — also “lost it” when their younger sibling landed at the Cats.

Alexis Gregor (left) goes up for the contest against Havana Harris and Scout Howden in an AFL Academy v All Stars game. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Playing locally first at Echuca and then Moama, Gregor joined the Bendigo Pioneers’ girls program at just 14.

The first two years saw Gregor play plenty of footy before her injury struck her down.

Sitting out the entire 2023 season, Gregor’s selection in the Coates Talent League’s summer training hub came as something of a surprise.

But it set the foundation for her return and a strong draft year with Bendigo and later Vic Country, where coach Mel Hickey – Geelong’s former captain – used the tall in a variety of positions.

With her strength one-on-one crucial to her game, Gregor can go up forward or down back, with her 181cm frame also lending to pinch hitting in the ruck.

“I’ve been told I look more natural as a defender, but I don’t really have a preference between them,” she said.

Gregor will reunite with fellow Bendigo Pioneers teammate Bryde O’Rourke, who was a father-daughter selection for Geelong last year, at Kardinia Park, while Kate Darby, who in a similar utility mould to Gregor and also standing at 181cm, previously coached the teen in an All-Star match.

“She was one of my best friends at Bendigo,” Gregor said of O’Rourke.

“Half an hour after I was drafted, she was on the phone to me, from Bali.”

Analysis: Why tall order was needed in Geelong’s latest draft hand

Geelong’s AFLW draft strategy became crystal clear after its first pick in Monday’s 2024 edition.

Draft talls.

Rucks were clearly the missing ingredient across the Cats’ list in 2024, with more support needed to give first use of the ball to a star-studded midfield headlined by Nina Morrison, Georgie Prespakis and Amy McDonald.

Losing star key forward Chloe Scheer to a season-ending injury hurt, while the 10th placed Cats were at times also exposed in defence.

It would have been interesting to see if the Cats scooped up local talent Sara Howley had the gun midfielder still been on the board for their first pick, though she was taken well before then with pick 4.

Instead it gave the Cats a chance to bolster their key position stocks, taking Bendigo Pioneer and Moama teen Alexis Gregor at pick 10.

Despite being arguably a draft bolter, Gregor has long had a career in football ahead of her, joining the Pioneers at just 14, though two bulging discs in her back ruled her out for 18 months, including her entire bottom-age year.

But the 181cm utility, who can play at both ends, more than made up for it with a strong top-age year, culminating with Vic Country U18 honours.

Losing breakout Irish defender Anna-Rose Kennedy, who will return home for 2025, is a bittersweet blow for the Cats as well as fans, though Dan Lowther and his team may well have found a ready-made replacement with their next pick.

Despite placing a bid on Carlton father-daughter prospect Sophie McKay, son of former Andrew and sister of AFLW star Abbie, the midfielder was always headed for the Blues, who quickly matched the Geelong’s bid.

Both Alexis Gregor (left) and Sienna Tallariti (middle) have landed at Geelong in the 2024 AFLW draft. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The Cats quickly moved to snap up Oakleigh Chargers defender Sienna Tallariti with their next first-round pick at 18.

Though 13cm shorter than Kennedy, Tallariti has been described as “a big game player”, judged best afield in two consecutive Coates Talent League grand final wins and was named centre-half back in this year’s U18 all-Australian team.

The 169cm interceptor’s poise, ability to shrug off opponents and exceptional reading of the play makes her well suited to making an immediate impact for the Cats in a number of positions.

Geelong coach Dan Lowther (right) and the brains trust at the AFLW draft on Monday night. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

But perhaps the Cats’ most decisive draft decision came with their final pick — 37 as they later passed on pick 62 — selecting 186cm ruck Piper Dunlop straight out of their VFLW program.

Last month Geelong signed rookie ruck prospect and former volleyballer Caitie Tipping, the 24-year-old clearly a long-term project signing a three-year deal.

But Tipping shouldering the Cats’ entire ruck hopes from day dot is unrealistic for someone who is yet to play a game of football.

Piper Dunlop comes from a basketball background. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Instead, Dunlop, a basketball cross-coder who previously played in the WNBL, provides more immediate relief.

The 21-year-old switched to football this year and though she struggled to break into the Cats’ VFLW side until round 7, Sammy Gooden’s injury created an opening for Dunlop to become the Cats’ number one ruck, averaging 26.7 hit outs, 9.6 disposals and 3.9 tackles across her seven games.

Another Geelong VFLW ruck would later find their way onto a AFLW list, Caitlin Reid joining her home-state team Sydney with pick 60 after six games in hoops.

With some of its most immediate concerns address at the draft, the Cats still have an open list spot heading into 2025.

What type of player they’ll look at could go any number of ways in what is sure to be a heated supplementary signing period in February.

Originally published as Geelong recruit Alexis Gregor on lengthy injury battle, her best position and reuniting with an ex-teammate