TWO IRISH PLAYERS could see their long waits for Australian Football League Women’s [AFLW] debuts ended this weekend, or in the coming weeks.
The 2022 season gets underway tomorrow with the meeting of St Kilda and Richmond, with up to fourteen Irish stars in line to feature throughout the weekend.
Three are yet to debut — Rachel Kearns, Áine Tighe and Bríd Stack.
The former is the newest face in the AFLW from these shores, having signed for Geelong Cats in the off-season, but the latter pair had already been on the books of Fremantle Dockers and Greater Western Sydney [GWS] Giants respectively.
Their cruel pre-season luck and the horrific injuries they’ve endured over the past few years have forced them to the sidelines through the business end of proceedings, though.
Leitrim star Tighe signed for Freo ahead of the 2020 season, but another cruciate knee ligament injury in her side’s final pre-season match ended her competitive involvement before it even began.
Having just made a full recovery from one before heading Down Under, this came as an unfortunate blow. And it was surely compounded by the fact that she had made such an impression at the club through a seamless transition, and had been tipped to make a big impact in the AFLW as a ruck.
“She is such an exciting player and has done everything right for the club so far,” head coach Trent Cooper said as the news broke.
Tighe stayed in Australia to rehab and re-signed for 2021, though there was a horrible sense of Deja Vu last January when she suffered a meniscus tear on her same left knee.
Fremantle’s general manager of football and performance, Joe Brierty, summed up the disappointment in club statement.
“We are devastated for Áine after the ACL injury she sustained last year. Everyone was excited about what Áine would have contributed to our 2021 campaign.
Making a return to full training tonight, welcome back Aine Tighe 💪 #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/6xrc0fZ9Gh
— Fremantle Dockers AFLW (@freodockersAFLW) November 30, 2021
“Áine is very resilient and dedicated, which was evident last year when she remained in Australia post-season to use the club’s facilities to ensure she completed the best possible ACL rehabilitation.
“Unfortunately for Áine and the club, the timing of the injury means it is unlikely that we’ll see her play in 2021. The club will continue to support Áine through her rehabilitation and we know that she will do everything to recover as quickly as possible.”
That she has done, with a massive show of faith in re-signing in June providing a welcome boost as she looks to put a nightmare run of injuries behind her.
In recent times, Cooper hailed the fact that she has been “absolutely exemplary with her work ethic and ability to overcome these injuries,” while she’s had the chance to impress on the field over the past few weeks.
The towering high-scoring Gaelic football forward kicked a goal in an in-house game, and impressed in a practice match against West Coast Eagles.
“It was great to see Áine get out there and get through a game, so that was probably the most pleasing aspect of the whole day for us,” Cooper said afterwards.
On Saturday, Freo play West Coast once again, but this time in competitive fare as the season kicks off — and Tighe will be hoping she can play some part as Irish counterparts Aisling McCarthy and Niamh and Grace Kelly come to town.
We are LOVING this from @freodockersAFLW
— AFLW Ireland (@aflw_ireland) January 4, 2022
Best of Luck to @ainetighe ☘️
for the @aflwomens season ahead! 💚💜
PUMPED! #AWholeNewBallGame pic.twitter.com/TxSYO2fDzo
Sunday could bring an opportunity for Stack to debut after her own devastating 2021.
A serious neck injury derailed the Cork legend’s AFLW dream in a pre-season game last January, though the outcome could have been much worse.
11-time All-Ireland champion and seven-time All-Star Stack was hospitalised after a challenge in the match against Adelaide Crows, and was ultimately left counting her lucky stars after coming within millimetres of paralysis.
But she bounced back from her lucky escape to make a full recovery, and returned to team training in March as the season wound down.
“Bríd Stack showed not only why she’s been a champion Gaelic player but why she was going to be a very good player for us,” head coach Al McConnell said after the devastating setback in her first-ever game of Aussie Rules.
“She’s demonstrated why she’s a champion. She did that both before the injury and since the injury. I think her resilience and her competitiveness have come to the fore and I’m very grateful that she’s made this effort.”
Stack documented her journey back in a series of columns with The Irish Examiner, and through her social media accounts with her husband, Carthach, and young son, Carthach Óg, with her every step of the way having moved their life to Australia for the AFLW season. GWS team-mate and Mayo great Cora Staunton also played a central role, as outlined in this fascinating interview with Maurice Brosnan for The42.
They’re all back in Sydney ahead of Sunday’s opener against Gold Coast, with a touch of unfinished business to attend to.
“I always wanted to come back and give it another shot,” Stack said in a recent interview for the club. “The biggest thing for me is to embrace the opportunity the Giants have given me and learn as much as I can.
“I’m eager to contribute as much as I can and if the opportunity arises to debut that’ll be a bonus.”
Stack, the 2016 Footballer of the Year, had been named in the GWS squad to face Adelaide in a pre-season match last month and was set to come full circle, though the game was cancelled.
A debut should arrive in the coming weeks though, just like Tighe.
Two players who have well and truly put their lives on hold to pursue the dream, despite the many hurdles they’ve had to cross.
Two players who have likely spent more time in the gym than on the track, and more time out of contact than in it over the past few months, hopefully set to reap the rewards.
Two players who have done so much for ladies football here, and have so much still to give to the Australian game.
Irish players to feature in the 2022 AFLW season
- Orla O’Dwyer (Brisbane Lions / Tipperary)
- Aisling McCarthy (West Coast Eagles / Tipperary)
- Grace Kelly (West Coast Eagles / Mayo)
- Niamh Kelly (West Coast Eagles / Mayo)
- Aileen Gilroy (North Melbourne / Mayo)
- Rachel Kearns (Geelong Cats / Mayo)
- Sarah Rowe (Collingwood / Mayo)
- Aishling Sheridan (Collingwood / Cavan)
- Cora Staunton (GWS Giants / Mayo)
- Bríd Stack (GWS Giants / Cork)
- Áine Tighe (Fremantle / Leitrim)
- Sinéad Goldrick (Melbourne / Dublin)
- Lauren Magee (Melbourne / Dublin)
- Ailish Considine (Clare / Adelaide Crows)
2022 AFLW Round One fixtures
*all in Irish time
Friday 7 January
- St Kilda v Richmond, SkyBus Stadium, 8.15am
Saturday 8 January
- North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos v Geelong Cats, Arden Street, 6.10am
- Western Bulldogs v Melbourne, Victoria University Whitten Oval, 8am
- Fremantle v West Coast Eagles, Fremantle Oval, 9.50am
Sunday 9 January
- Adelaide Crows v Brisbane Lions, Flinders University Stadium, 3.10am
- Carlton v Collingwood, Ikon Park, 5.10am
- Gold Coast Suns v GWS Giants, Great Barrier Reef Arena, 7.10am.
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