Tayla Harris is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and professional boxer. She previously played football for Carlton and Brisbane.
The AFL Women's Rising Star is an Australian rules football award given annually to the best young player in the AFL Women's (AFLW) for the year. Two eligible players are nominated each round of the home-and-away season; the players must have been under 21 at the beginning of the year and cannot have been previously nominated. Players suspended during the year cannot win. After the season's completion, an expert panel votes on the recipient.
Ebony Marinoff is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Marinoff is a three-time AFL Women's premiership player, six-time AFL Women's All-Australian and dual Adelaide Club Champion winner. In 2017, she won the inaugural AFL Women's Rising Star award, played in a premiership with Darebin in the VFL Women's (VFLW) and represented The Allies in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match. Marinoff is the AFL Women's equal games record holder and Adelaide games record holder with 79 games.
Emma Michelle Kearney is an Australian rules footballer and former cricketer. A decorated midfielder in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, Kearney won the league's best and fairest award while playing for the Western Bulldogs in 2018 and has captained North Melbourne since 2019. She previously played cricket for the Melbourne Stars in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and for Victoria in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL).
Melissa Hickey is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She served as Geelong captain in the club's first two AFL Women's seasons. She also played in the Victorian Women's Football League/VFL Women's for eleven seasons, representing the St Albans Spurs, Darebin and Geelong. In the VWFL/VFLW, Hickey won seven premierships, represented Victoria on three occasions and featured in the VFL Women's team of the year.
Karen "Paxy" Paxman is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A defender, 1.70 metres (5.6 ft) tall, Paxman plays primarily on the half-back line with the ability to push into the midfield. She first played football at sixteen years of age and won a premiership and league best and fairest in her first year. She played in the premier division of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) from the 2008 season and won three VWFL premierships with St Albans and Darebin, in addition to a VFL Women's premiership with Darebin. Her accolades in football include three league best and fairests, state representation on four occasions, best-on-ground in a grand final, and five-time AFLW All-Australian honours.
The 2017 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 118th season of senior competition in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club also fielded its reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for the 18th season. It was also the first time the club fielded a women's team, with the club joining the VFL Women's competition.
Dana Hooker is an Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Fremantle Football Club from 2017 to 2019. Hooker is a dual AFL Women's All-Australian, and was the inaugural Fremantle fairest and best winner in 2017 and inaugural West Coast Club Champion in 2020.
Richelle Cranston is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She was drafted by Melbourne with their third selection and twenty-fourth overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the fifteen point loss to Brisbane at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 season. She was suspended for one match after her debut match due to front on contact with Brisbane's Jamie Stanton. After returning from suspension, she played every match for the year to finish with six games.
Shelley Scott is an Australian rules footballer playing for Geelong in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their sixth selection and forty-first overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the fifteen point loss to Brisbane at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 season. She missed one match during the season, the round five match against Greater Western Sydney due to a shoulder injury.
Katherine Smith is an Australian rules footballer playing for Greater Western Sydney in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their seventh selection and 56th overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the 15-point loss to Brisbane at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 season. After the two-point win against Adelaide at TIO Stadium in Round 6—in which she recorded ten disposals and a mark—she was the round nominee for the AFLW Rising Star. She played every match in her debut season to finish with seven games.
Madeleine Boyd is an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney and Geelong.
Jasmine Grierson is an Australian rules footballer playing for Greater Western Sydney in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. She has previously played for Melbourne and North Melbourne.
Elise Hogan (née Strachan) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. Hogan played with the Bendigo Thunder in the premier division of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) during the 2016 season, including playing in the grand final, in which the club lost by thirteen points to Deer Park. Despite missing out on selection in the 2016 AFL Women's draft, she trained with the Melbourne Football Club as a back-up player.
Libby Birch is an Australian rules footballer who plays for North Melbourne in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne. She previously played netball and captained Victoria at the National Netball Championships. Birch is currently studying a Physiotherapy degree at La Trobe University. In 2016, Birch switched from netball to Australian rules football and was recruited by the Western Bulldogs as a rookie after having only played football for three months for the Darebin Falcons in the VFL Women's.
Matilda Lucas-Rodd is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). They previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2017 to 2019 and the St Kilda Football Club from 2020 to 2022 (S6). They were the inaugural Hawthorn best and fairest winner, and they have served as Hawthorn captain since 2022 season 7.
Nina Morrison is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A midfielder who won multiple accolades at junior level and played in the VFL Women's (VFLW) as a teenager, Morrison was the first selection in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. She received a nomination for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 1 of the 2019 season, her debut match.
Olivia Purcell is an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
The 2019 season was Geelong Football Club's first in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. Geelong joined the league as an expansion club alongside North Melbourne, having initially been denied entry into the competition's first season in 2017. Paul Hood was the club's inaugural senior coach, and Melissa Hickey was appointed club captain.
The 2022 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 158th season playing Australian rules football, with the club competing in their 123rd season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong also fielded a women's team in both the 2022 AFL Women's season and AFL Women's season seven, and a men's and women's reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW) respectively.
