Despite already being a dual best and fairest winner for the Cats, Geelong midfielder Amy McDonald is getting better.
The 24-year-old from Ballarat was taken with the 80th pick of the 2019 draft and by the end of Season 6 earlier this year had already established herself as one of the premier midfielders in the competition, leading the Cats in disposals, tackles, clearances and contested possessions.
This year, McDonald has again gone up a gear and is currently 4th in the league for disposals (24 per game), 1st for contested possessions (14.7), 2nd for clearances (6.7) and 8th for tackles (7.8).
The good news is McDonald’s improvement has also matched that of her team.
The Cats finished 12th and 13th respectively over the past two seasons, but improvement in play from year to year was clear to those watching closely, and with Sydney to come this Saturday night in Geelong, finals are now within reach.
But the Cats don’t expect to just make up the numbers, coach Dan Lowther thinks they can ‘give it a shake’ once in, and much of that confidence comes from the powerhouse of midfield, led by McDonald, that has been building at GMHBA Stadium over past couple of seasons.
“She just keeps getting better and better,” Lowther told media following the Cats’ narrow loss to the Crows in Adelaide.
“She’s come a long way in a really short time – dual best and fairest for us but now she needs support, which is what we’re building.”
Crucially, that support has come on strong in 2022 with young guns Georgie Prespakis and Nina Morrison, finally getting a run at it after a horrid run with injury, both already showing why they were taken so high in the draft, and Becky Webster, a powerful athlete who finished second to McDonald in last year's best and fairest count.
“Georgie Prespakis played a really good game today and she’s only going to get better, Becky Webster probably goes below the radar a fair bit with the way she sets up for us and provides contests and then you’ve got Nina Morrison, so we just need to keep supporting our younger players and our more influential players.”
It’s hard to miss McDonald when watching the Cats, always on the move, always carving her way through traffic with the ball under her arm when she has it, and lunging at opposition ball carriers when she doesn’t.
Her resume suggests she’s already made it, but there’s something about her that makes you feel like she’s just getting started.
Her coach agrees: "Amy is going to be a good player for us for a long, long time," Lowther said.
