Prior to 2022, Geelong had a focus on recruiting locally and from country regions as it looked to build strong foundations for its emerging AFL Women’s program.
Across Seasons 6 and 7, however, the Cats’ list-building moved into its next phase as they drafted more players from metropolitan Melbourne in addition to local talent.
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Prespakis’ Cannons teammate Zali Friswell followed soon after with national pick 7, before the Cats’ added Geelong Falcon Gabbi Featherston (pick 9) and Geelong VFLW player Annabel Johnson (pick 15) in an impressive draft haul.
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It was a trend that continued in Season 7, with Brooke Plummer (Northern Knights) and Abbey McDonald (Cannons) joining the list alongside Mia Skinner (Geelong VFLW).
Geelong Cats Head of AFLW and Pathways Brett Johnson said the club was pleased to see how much all the draftees had developed in their first year of being on an AFLW list.
“It’s fantastic to see Georgie improve so much in her second season – to get 15 votes in the competition best and fairest medal – when she missed two games – is an incredible effort, ” Johnson said.
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“I think there were a few clubs surprised that we took Zali at pick 4 in the Victorian draft, but we just thought Zali had all the attributes to be a good player in our team, and she’s proved that in two seasons – and she only turned 19 in December.”
Geelong Falcons graduate Featherston has been developing as a defender, and showed some exciting signs in her first year, while Annabel Johnson has played every game she has been available for, taking into account a foot injury that derailed the back end of her first season.
The intercepting defender came up through the Cats’ VFLW program in 2021 – the same arena Skinner was finally able to get a clean run at footy in after injuries plagued her first stint in the AFLW.
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The 21-year-old was drafted by the Cats for a second time ahead of Season 7, making her long-awaited debut in Round 1 against Richmond.
“This season to bring Mia Skinner back into the program after having a good season in the VFLW has added a lot to the program as well, ” Johnson said.
“Brooke Plummer is an exciting talent. Given her school commitments, she only completed about 30 per cent of training overall, so with a full pre-season ahead of Season 8, we think Brooke is going to be a key player for us.
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“Abbey McDonald has a lot of upside. She didn’t play this season, but she’s a hard-nosed small defender, who we think is going to add a lot to the group as well.
“So while we’ve prioritised bringing some experience into the group, we’ve still been able to get into the draft and bring some young talent in as well.”
Following a historic two seasons in one calendar year in 2022, the AFL will introduce a one-off overage draft this season, given there has not been a junior season since the previous draft in June.
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Teams will only be able to select from players that had nominated for the Season 7 draft and mature-aged state league talent. With concrete details on the opening six rounds, we've had a look at each match-up to see what we have to look forward to.
This match-up will mark the beginning of a new era for the Hawks as the club looks to build the foundations towards its next premiership success.
A tough task awaits in our Round 2 clash, but we thought the same of our Round 3 meeting with the Tiges last year and that panned out to be our best win of the year.
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Circle this date in your diaries as well for the sheer fact that it's our long-awaited return to the 'G with a home crowd providing the wind in our sails that we missed so much in 2020.
And, if you're a fan of the stiff arm, there may not be a better exhibition of it this year than watching Dustin Martin and James Worpel refuse to argue with each other as two of the best exponents of the skill in our game.
Provided he plays in each match of the opening fortnight, this'll be Worps' 50th game too! He's achieved a bit in a short amount of time, hasn't he?!
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Membership is your best opportunity to watch the Hawks live in 2021, so don't forget to join or renew your membership ahead of this exciting clash.
It's three true blockbusters to kick off our season and what better way to introduce our young Hawks to the ways of the big time.
Easter Monday encounters rarely need much hamming up, irrespective of either side's ladder positions at the time, you just know a fiery contest is imminent.
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And if the Hawks needed any further impetus to get their engines going, perhaps the thought of beating that guy that left us to venture down the highway might help.
After 13 of our 17 outings were outside of Victoria last year, we will have our first interstate trip in Round 4 when we take on Freo.
Relative to other clubs, the Hawks' 60 per cent winning record at Optus Stadium ranks in the upper echelons ,so the flight west might not figure to mean much here either.
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The Dockers are a team following a similar trajectory to the Hawks, full of youth and promise, which sets the scene for an intriguing battle of two sides with one eye on the future.
With the likes of Max Gawn, Christian Petracca and Steven May, the Dees boast some top-end talent, so it begs the question: how well will the Hawks be able to contain them?
The meeting may see Kyle Hartigan face his former side, while the Crows will be aided by former Hawks assistant coach Scott Burns.
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While some of the 2021 fixture details remain unclear for now, one thing is for certain; you won't have to wait long to witness intriguing battles and exciting stories at the football this year.
Each Hawthorn game promises to ignite passion, uncloak stars of the future and provide an outlet for competitive spirit we all missed so much last year.Hawthorn is playing Geelong in a bottom two encounter for the first time in 79 years and a reigning premier in a bottom two game for the first time in 53 years.
Hawthorn played Geelong twice in bottom two games in 1944, recording a comprehensive 53-point victory at Glenferrie in Round 3, but losing by 25 points at Kardinia Park in Round 14. That was Geelong’s only win of the season, while Hawthorn had another win and a draw ensuring that the Hawks avoided the wooden spoon. The clubs had also played a bottom two game in 1941.
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Perhaps surprisingly, Hawthorn has played the reigning premier twice before in a bottom two encounter, in 1942 against Melbourne, and in 1970 against Richmond.
In Round 6 1970, the winless Hawks took on 1969 premiers Richmond, who were second last with a 1-4 record. The game which also had the major historic significance of being the first for the club at VFL Park Waverley. In a high-scoring match, Richmond won by seven points – 21.11.137 to 20.10.130. It is worth noting that, between them, the early strugglers of the 1970 season went on to win three Flags in the next four seasons.
It’s a tribute to Hawthorn’s modern-day success that next Monday’s bottom two game against Geelong is just the second against any opponent in the past 15 years. The only other recent such game was against North Melbourne in Round 9 2021. The 13-season period from 2008 to 2020 without a bottom two contest was the second longest in club history, surpassed only by the 27 years from 1971 to 1997. In fact, in the 23 seasons from 1971 to 1993, Hawthorn was only in the bottom two on the ladder after one round (Round 2 1979), so the chances of playing in a bottom-two game were certainly remote.
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How good was it to see the number 33 in action for Hawthorn last Saturday for the first time in five years, especially as Tyler Brockman wore the number with such distinction, booting three goals. The last time the number was wore for Hawthorn was in Cyril Rioli’s last game in Round 4 2018, a victory against Melbourne at the MCG.
Since Rioli’s retirement the number has been allocated to Mathew Walker (2019-20), Harry Pepper (2021) and Brockman last season, without any of them cracking a senior appearance. Brockman wore number 42 in his 11 games in 2021.
Apart from Rioli’s 189 games and four premierships in number 33, other Hawks to wear it in premierships were Geoff Angus (1971) and Paul Hudson (1991), while Kris Barlow played 102 games (1999-2004). Several other prominent Hawks (including Ron Nalder, David Parkin and Bob Keddie) wore number 33 before changing to lower numbers.
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Hawthorn has a good recent record against reigning premiers, having beaten Western Bulldogs (2017), West Coast (2019) and Richmond (2020), and played a draw with the Tigers in 2021.
Hawthorn trails Geelong 76 to 92 in the head-to-head between the clubs, with one