(From left): Fremantle’s Aisling McCarthy, Hawthorn’s Eliza West and North Melbourne’s Libby Birch. Photos: AFL MEDIA
We’ve all been there before. Rocking up to work for the first time for a new employer. Butterflies flit around in your gut. You want to make a good first impression on your new boss and your new mates and earn their respect, knowing you won’t get a second opportunity.
Along the way, there are seemingly endless hours of onboarding, a new company culture to learn. Now imagine you’re an established, professional footballer joining a new club, or a young one trying to make the most of a fresh start at another.
It’s even more of a challenge moving interstate or cross-country, far from family and friends. Not only is there a senior coach to answer to, but a rabid fanbase attuned to your every step – and misstep.
For several AFLW players, including four whom Melbourne off-loaded, last weekend marked their debuts in new club colours. Some lucky ones even got a post-match sports drink shower and a newly-memorised, brand new club anthem to sing in victory. These were most notable debuts of players/coaches with their new clubs.
LIBBY BIRCH (North Melbourne)
The two-time All-Australian and two-time premiership tall defender is arguably the highest profile star to switch teams. Having fallen just short of taking out their first flag after holding a three-quarter time grand final lead, the Kangaroos recruited Birch from the Demons to add valuable experience and skill to their backline. Birch came exactly as advertised. On Sunday, she was instrumental in helping clamp down Brisbane’s forward line, a decisive factor in the Roos exacting revenge on the reigning premier. North Melbourne had never beaten Brisbane since the competition’s 2017 inception, and in the course of a 44-point belting, Birch took a game-high seven marks, playing like the rock-solid pillar the Roos were hoping she’d be.
ELIZA WEST (Hawthorn)
Some pundits still insist that this speedy winger should have been awarded best-on-ground in the Season 7 grand final in 2022 while playing for Melbourne. It was that kind of form West displayed over the weekend for her new team. How’s this for a debut? A match-best 106 fantasy points, fuelled by game highs in contested possessions (25) and tackles (10). West gathered 29 possessions overall and was equal-best among her new teammates with four clearances. Most importantly, West’s lightning quick pace helped the Hawks run roughshod over Carlton by 38 points. West’s performance made it unfathomable as to how she could have fallen out of favour with the Demons despite racking up 26 touches and eight clearances in her last appearance with them, a semi-final loss to Geelong. Melbourne’s loss is clearly Hawthorn’s gain.
CASEY SHERIFF (Hawthorn)
The Hawks brought in this long-time former Demon winger to provide a reliable link between defence and attack. In Hawthorn’s 38-point victory over the Blues, the club’s biggest ever, Sheriff distributed the ball well and as a bonus, hit the scoreboard. Sheriff booted two goals for the match; her season-high is four. In amassing 15 touches, Sheriff matched her former teammate West’s clearance output with four. More impressively, Sheriff had a game-best 396 metres gained. Hawks new senior coach Daniel Webster, one of the two new senior coaches to win a match this weekend, has to like what he’s seeing in his side’s new recruits.
AISLING McCARTHY (Fremantle)
The Dockers enticed the Irish-born-and-bred mid-forward to cross the Swan River in the off-season from West Coast. With Fremantle star midfielder Kiara Bowers taking a sabbatical from the game to give birth, its midfield corps must pick up the slack. One would be hard-pressed to find a more impressive debut than McCarthy’s in the Dockers’ 43-point rout of Essendon. McCarthy’s career average for possessions entering this season was 14, but at Windy Hill she gathered a team-best 24. While Bowers has made her name as a tackling beast, she’d be proud of McCarthy laying a match-best 14. For good measure, McCarthy kicked two goals on her way to earning a ridiculous 139 fantasy points.
JESS HOSKING (West Coast)
The Eagles lured the former Blue and Tiger west and in a tight match where one point was the winning margin, Hosking’s two goals for her new team were crucial, as was her one goal assist. Hosking was an indefatigable workhorse, clocking 94 per cent time on ground. She showed reliable hands, taking a team-high six marks, and had 15 disposals in the Eagles’ thrilling win over Richmond.
DAISY PEARCE (West Coast)
While the Demons’ three-time All-Australian legend and Season 7 2022 premiership captain hung up the boots after hoisting the cup, this season she has joined the senior coaching ranks. It’s Pearce’s mandate to instil a winning culture in a side that has historically struggled. Across five seasons, the Eagles have won just eight matches, so what better way for Pearce to start her tenure than with a victory? Pearce recently told fans and the media at her new club’s season launch: “You might not be better than [another] team, but if you’re better than the [other] team on the day, that’s all that matters.” Her new players seem to already have taken that message to heart. Hosking described the “Daisy Effect” on a footy podcast, saying: “There’s a bunch of us that have got the mentality of ‘we can win anything’.”
