The AFLW All-Stars game on Saturday at North Sydney Oval will see Ireland take on Australia in a representative match that highlights the significant influence of Irish players on women's Australian rules football. With 46 Irish players currently on AFLW lists, the sold-out fixture serves as a pre-season showcase for the league entering its 11th season.
Irish impact on AFLW
Eight Irish players have won AFLW premierships, and nine have earned All-Australian blazers over the league’s 10 seasons. Geelong’s Aishling Moloney, from County Tipperary, was the joint leading goalkicker in 2024, while Niamh McLaughlin became the first Irish AFL/AFLW captain when she was selected to co-lead the Suns in 2023. The match pits Ireland against Australia in an Australian rules format, acknowledging how Gaelic football’s speed and agility translate well to the women’s game.
Pioneers and pathways
County Mayo’s Cora Staunton was the first Irish player to move to Australia for the AFLW, joining GWS Giants at the end of 2017 and debuting at age 36. Now back in Ireland, she fields calls from players and clubs interested in the pathway. Staunton is the chair of selectors for Ireland in this match, flying to Australia after her county’s first All-Ireland men’s football title in 75 years on Sunday. She recalls meeting Irishman Nick Walsh in Shanghai, who connected her with the Giants, and says she fell in love with the game despite initial wariness. “I just fell in love with the game,” she says. “I was still learning on the go. Even my kicking style, I refined it in the [first] off-season.” Staunton played 50 games for the Giants over six seasons, kicking 55 goals.
Appeal and demand
Staunton attributes the appeal to lifestyle and professionalism. 2021 Census data shows over 22,000 people in Greater Sydney born in Ireland, with 401,000 of Irish ancestry. “If you look at Irish people in general that have left university or college, they’re all 21, 22,” she says. “There’s a big pull to the culture and environment and the lifestyle that you have in terms of weather.” Erika O’Shea, selected for Ireland this weekend, arrived from County Cork in 2022 before turning 20 and has since won back-to-back premierships with North Melbourne. She remembers role models like Orla O’Dwyer, who will captain Ireland, and the Kelly sisters. “I saw them be so successful … get paid to do what you love and exercise and have such an amazing lifestyle,” O’Shea says. “I think at the time I was oblivious to how far away Australia really was. Obviously I chased my dreams. But reality did hit when I got off the plane and I realised I was so far away from all my friends and family.” O’Shea now spends her off-season in Melbourne and has 20 friends attending the match.
Game details and context
The match was not moved to a larger venue like the SCG despite fan demand; the AFL offered a ticketing waitlist and advertised pubs in Sydney and Melbourne. An unknown number of additional tickets released this week were quickly snapped up. The game brings together top players from both sides, including Ebony Marinoff, Jasmine Garner, Courtney Hodder, Erone Fitzpatrick, Vikki Wall, and Aine McDonagh, at a capacity venue, shaping as a key moment in the league’s history.
