For Cats AFLW recruit Mikayla Bowen, Geelong already feels like home.

The 21-year-old has slotted seamlessly into the Cats’ midfield in Season 7, and the story has been no different off-field.

Speaking on the CatterBoxes podcast this week, Bowen spoke about what won her over as she looked to take her footy to Victoria, describing the decision to join Geelong as “the best decision of my life”.

Bowen recalled getting dinner and going to a Cats men’s game with skipper Meghan McDonald, Nina Morrison and Cats footy staff, and getting breakfast with Becky Webster and Annabel Johnson, as she was being shown around the club and life in Geelong.

While it was a memorable experience, Bowen said it was the conversations that she had with Geelong people in between that truly stood out for her and ultimately helped her make her decision

“In terms of being the first conversation to the last, I just never forgot how I felt through the whole experience, and I think that was the biggest thing for me,” Bowen said.

“There were a lot of words and statements thrown around throughout a lot of conversations in that process (of deciding a club) for me, but I couldn’t shake the way that I felt whilst being in the company of the people here and the club.

“So that was probably the biggest (thing), regardless of the incredible things that were on that package as well, was just that the feeling is something I’ll never forget, and I’m feeling it 10-fold now every day.”

On the field, Bowen has built a strong rapport with her teammates as she establishes her place on the wing, with her outside run and leadership strong assets for the playing group.

She also has an off-field role with the club, taking on the position of diversity and inclusion co-ordinator in the Cats’ community team.

Bowen said the feeling she had about the club was reflective of the impression she had of the wider Geelong community since she made the move east.

"There seems to be such a humble confidence about the club and I think, for me, that's something I'm so about in terms of being confident enough in what you're doing, but there's no one in this club who goes around and acts like they're too good to do the little things, or too good to reach out to certain people, and I think that's the big picture for me," Bowen said.

Bowen said there was a feeling of excitement among the group as it looks to build on a promising start to the season when they take on North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos on Friday.

The Cats are 2-1 to start the season, with the only mar on their record a narrow loss to Collingwood last weekend.

First bounce is 5.10pm AEST at UTAS Stadium in Launceston. Fans can catch the match on 7 Mate, Fox Footy, or stream through womens.afl or the official AFLW or AFL Live Apps.