ARMAGH STAR AIMEE Mackin will focus solely on Gaelic football in 2026, with her AFLW career on hold.
Mackin has not renewed her contract with Melbourne, whom she represented in 2023 alongside her sister Blaithin.
A second cruciate ligament knee injury sustained in action for Armagh ruled her out of the 2024 AFLW season, with Mackin listed as an inactive player thereafter.
While Melbourne were reportedly hopeful of her involvement for the upcoming campaign, the three-time All-Star has confirmed her current status.
“No contract. I didn’t renew or anything,” Mackin told The 42 at this week’s 2026 Lidl National Football League launch.
“The focus is solely just playing here and playing with my club. I think I owe my club a couple of seasons before going out. I haven’t played with our club in a couple of years.”
The Shane O’Neill’s forward did reveal her interest in an eventual return to Australia, however. “Yeah, it might be for the immediate future, like a year or whatever.
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“I think now it’s important to stay at home and play Gaelic here. I think that’s probably going to be the priority, but you don’t know. Things can change.”
The AFLW future of her sister Blaithin — who won an Premiership with Melbourne in 2022 — remains unclear.
Tipperary sharpshooter Aishling Moloney, meanwhile, appears to have thrown her lot in with the Australian game this year.
The Geelong player is absent from the Tipperary panel. She balanced both codes last season, and finished the inter-county campaign nominated for an All-Star.
Mackin sustained her second cruciate ligament knee injury in Armagh’s 2024 Ulster final win over Donegal. It was a gut-wrenching setback, having suffered the same cruel fate at the end of the 2019 season.
“It was probably different to the first time,” the 28-year-old recalled. “I wasn’t sure that it was the cruciate. I just knew I had pain in my knee. It was weird.
“But we step out onto the pitch and we know probably these are risks that are going to happen. Would I change it? No, because I think setbacks probably help you in terms of your mindset and what you need to do, probably push you that wee bit harder.
“I think you have to be resilient and you have to put the effort in if you want to. I suppose that’s what I wanted, so I knew I had to put in the work to get back.”
Aimee Mackin at the 2026 Lidl Ladies National Football League launch on Tuesday. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE
Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE
The recovery was another long road — longer and more arduous the second time around.
Mackin made it back for Armagh’s final game of 2025, returning as a substitute in a shock defeat to Kildare which saw them bow out of the championship.
It was a difficult day, but the journey to that point was undoubtedly rougher.
“I think it was probably harder this time around because the first time I’d done it was the year of Covid,” said Mackin. “I actually missed no football, which in hindsight was an easier thing throughout an injury when you’re not having to watch on the sidelines.
“Last year was harder in terms of having to watch games and training, which is probably the tough part that maybe people don’t see.
“When I’d done it the first time, I was 21, fresher. The body’s a wee bit older now, so you just have to manage it a wee bit more.”
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It’s “as good as it can be” as Armagh welcome Waterford for their Division 1 league opener on Sunday, with Gregory McGonigle back in the managerial hot seat.
The hope for Mackin is for a full season with the Orchard county and Shane O’Neill’s, and leaving the cruciate curse in the rearview mirror.
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'The focus is solely just playing here' - No 2026 AFLW return for Aimee Mackin
ARMAGH STAR AIMEE Mackin will focus solely on Gaelic football in 2026, with her AFLW career on hold.
Mackin has not renewed her contract with Melbourne, whom she represented in 2023 alongside her sister Blaithin.
A second cruciate ligament knee injury sustained in action for Armagh ruled her out of the 2024 AFLW season, with Mackin listed as an inactive player thereafter.
While Melbourne were reportedly hopeful of her involvement for the upcoming campaign, the three-time All-Star has confirmed her current status.
“No contract. I didn’t renew or anything,” Mackin told The 42 at this week’s 2026 Lidl National Football League launch.
The Shane O’Neill’s forward did reveal her interest in an eventual return to Australia, however. “Yeah, it might be for the immediate future, like a year or whatever.
“I think now it’s important to stay at home and play Gaelic here. I think that’s probably going to be the priority, but you don’t know. Things can change.”
The AFLW future of her sister Blaithin — who won an Premiership with Melbourne in 2022 — remains unclear.
Tipperary sharpshooter Aishling Moloney, meanwhile, appears to have thrown her lot in with the Australian game this year.
The Geelong player is absent from the Tipperary panel. She balanced both codes last season, and finished the inter-county campaign nominated for an All-Star.
Mackin sustained her second cruciate ligament knee injury in Armagh’s 2024 Ulster final win over Donegal. It was a gut-wrenching setback, having suffered the same cruel fate at the end of the 2019 season.
“It was probably different to the first time,” the 28-year-old recalled. “I wasn’t sure that it was the cruciate. I just knew I had pain in my knee. It was weird.
“But we step out onto the pitch and we know probably these are risks that are going to happen. Would I change it? No, because I think setbacks probably help you in terms of your mindset and what you need to do, probably push you that wee bit harder.
“I think you have to be resilient and you have to put the effort in if you want to. I suppose that’s what I wanted, so I knew I had to put in the work to get back.”
The recovery was another long road — longer and more arduous the second time around.
Mackin made it back for Armagh’s final game of 2025, returning as a substitute in a shock defeat to Kildare which saw them bow out of the championship.
It was a difficult day, but the journey to that point was undoubtedly rougher.
“I think it was probably harder this time around because the first time I’d done it was the year of Covid,” said Mackin. “I actually missed no football, which in hindsight was an easier thing throughout an injury when you’re not having to watch on the sidelines.
“Last year was harder in terms of having to watch games and training, which is probably the tough part that maybe people don’t see.
“When I’d done it the first time, I was 21, fresher. The body’s a wee bit older now, so you just have to manage it a wee bit more.”
It’s “as good as it can be” as Armagh welcome Waterford for their Division 1 league opener on Sunday, with Gregory McGonigle back in the managerial hot seat.
The hope for Mackin is for a full season with the Orchard county and Shane O’Neill’s, and leaving the cruciate curse in the rearview mirror.
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