There’s a renewed energy around GMHBA Stadium, with a new coach and co-captain duo at the helm ahead of the 2026 AFLW season.
Nina Morrison and Becky Webster have taken over the on-field leadership after Meg McDonald’s retirement at the end of last season.
Both have featured in the Hoops since Geelong entered the competition in 2019, and were part of the inaugural match against Collingwood.
Morrison has served as vice-captain since 2022, claiming the club’s 2024 best and fairest and finishing in second the year after.
“Becky and I have been here from the very beginning, and also through under-18s together, so it’s pretty cool to be able to share that. Obviously, it’s a massive honour to share it with someone that I’ve respected for a long time,” the midfielder said.
“I look at photos of myself when I was six years old, and I’m just fully decked out in Cats gear, face paint, I just loved going to the footy.
“It’s pretty crazy to think that I’m even here in the first place, let alone having the opportunity to help lead this club.
“It’s been like home. It’s really cool to feel like I’ve kind of grown up here, and a lot of my leadership obviously has developed here as well, so hopefully we can continue to evolve in that sense and create something pretty special.”
Webster served in Geelong’s leadership group from 2022-2024 and enters the co-captaincy as the side’s most-capped player, with 73 games under her belt.
“We just want the best for the group, but also this footy club. I’ve been so privileged to walk into these halls and feel like home, and to share that amongst the group as well and try to continue being unmistakably Geelong,” she said.
“To reflect and be like ‘wow, you get to lead that’ is pretty special, and something that you don’t take lightly, that’s for sure.”
It’s the first time Geelong’s AFLW side will have more than one skipper, with both players confident they will complement each other well.
“Nina’s just a f***ing workhorse, you’ve seen that throughout her young days as well,” Webster said.
“So I think she really brings that standard of physicality on the track, but her wisdom around what the game is going to bring has been really great for the group, especially this young group coming through as well.”
“[Webster’s] probably probably a bit louder than I am, [and brings] a bit more energy amongst the group,” Morrison added
“I feel like I can be sort of ‘head down, bum up’ at times, and then Becky’s a bit more ‘get the vibes going’.”
There are not just new faces in the captaincy, with the team working hard in their first pre-season under new head coach Mick Stinear.
He joined the Cats after ten seasons with the Demons, having led them to their inaugural AFLW Premiership in 2022.
“Having Mick come in at the same time, it’s just been kind of like a reset for us in a way,” Webster said.
“He just brings so much energy to the group, and everyone this time of year wants to impress and train really hard.
“But I think the expectation around what we want to achieve together as a group, and how we want to do it on track, and around the footy club in general has been really driven by Mick.
“I think there’s a mutual understanding amongst the group that we’re not here to stuff around, and we’re in an elite environment where you want to win, and you want to make finals, and you want to be the best.
“It’s just the one percenters each day, rocking up knowing that you’re doing everything you can to hopefully get to that end goal of making finals or winning our first game, Mick’s being really clear that it’s those little moments that ultimately get you to those spots.”
Morrison said they’ve seen a big focus on development so far this year.
“It’s been nice to have a freshness amongst the program, and obviously he’s got so much expertise from his time in footy as well. I think that he’s come in and set the expectations pretty clearly from the start, and everyone’s in a position where we just want to learn,” she said.
“You play footy because you want to win games of football and you want to win the ultimate prize at the end of the day.
“In that sense, it’s been a frustrating couple of years, but I think the belief amongst the group is something that hasn’t wavered.
“I think that continued belief, and freshness amongst the program, a few changes, new coaching staff… that belief is probably as strong as ever. Every year obviously presents a new opportunity.”
The side will launch their season against reigning back-to-back premiers North Melbourne in a double-header at Marvel Stadium.
“We’re so pumped. We love North, and I think they’ve shown the last two years they’re the best side. It doesn’t go unnoticed, but we’ve always matched up against them really well, and to be able to play a double header in Round 1 at Marvel against them, you can’t get much better than that,’ Webster said.
“I think the more that we can play those sort of double headers, or play on great grounds like Marvel, the better product hopefully we can produce, so (we’re) just super excited to be part of that,” Morrison said.
The date and time of the clash haven’t been confirmed, with the men’s schedule not yet locked in.
