Fresh faces, fresh start: Cats ready for AFLW season opener

A new-look Geelong Cats outfit is eagerly awaiting the start of the 2026 AFLW season.

Captains Nina Morrison and Becky Webster are ready as ever to begin competition this year, saying the squad has renewed energy.

Following several underwhelming seasons for the club, the co-captains are hoping to see a return to form for the Cats in 2026.

The team enters the year with an injection of new players after a number of retirements at the end of 2025, alongside a coaching panel led by head coach Mick Stinear.

Morrison and Webster said work started well before official pre-season sessions began, with players and staff focused on establishing new ways of working together.

Morrison said the focus was not on reinventing the wheel, but on making the small improvements that could make a difference across a season.

“It’s been nice to have a freshness amongst the program,” Morrison said.

“Obviously [Stinear] has so much expertise from his time in footy as well. I think he’s come in and set the expectations pretty clearly from the start.”

The co-captains said the coaching panel had taken a more hands-on approach, with a stronger focus on personal development and greater access to assistant coaches.

“The club has done a really good job in particular this year of surrounding us with really good people and then supporting us off the back of that,” Webster said.

Webster said the influence of ex-player Sam Simpson has also been felt, with a greater understanding of what is expected and how things need to translate on field.

Former North Melbourne assistant coach Ryan Pendlebury has joined the coaching panel, bringing experience from one of the AFLW’s benchmark programs.

Elise Coventry has also returned for her fifth year with the club.

“They all just work really well together,” Webster said.

“As in any program, your head coach has expectations on how you want to play, but the assistant coaches really drive that standard and they all really work in their unique ways, but it works so well.”

Stepping into their first year as co-captains, Morrison and Webster said the club’s emerging talent was helping drive standards higher.

“I’m honestly so excited for the new girls that have come through,” Webster said. “The standard of training is lifting each year.

“Even in the draft, they’ve had multiple years of talent and building that, so they come through when they’re ready to go.

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be knocking the door down.”

Geelong will play North Melbourne in round one of the AFLW season in a doubleheader at Marvel Stadium.

The AFL is yet to announce the date of the game.