There have been a lot of big cheers over the past week.

They started last Thursday night at team selection when we found out that Rene Caris would be making her debut against Brisbane.

19-year-old Rene is a team favourite. She’s quiet, extremely polite and always has a smile on her face. She’s a hard worker who gets on with things without any fuss and it was great to see all her hard work rewarded.

The girls clapped and cheered for at least a minute when Rene’s name was announced, no exaggerating. That’s a long time if you think about it.

The applause continued for Rene when she was presented her guernsey at Moreton Bay Sports Complex by fellow ruck and her former netball idol Erin Hoare.

These two have an adorable relationship, almost like sisters. They play the same position, look alike and have similar interests. Rene is studying a subject that Dr Erin has researched and on the plane ride home they sat together and went through Rene’s homework. It was very cute.

The next cheer was one we all enjoyed, very much. It was in the middle of the oval after defeating Brisbane by 27-points. Beating a team on the road is an achievement in itself and to do it convincingly made it even sweeter. Kate Darby had an outstanding game kicking three goals, Renee Garing tackled any Brisbane opponent that came near her and Rocky racked up an impressive 22 disposals. It was a team effort and we played our style of footy.

For me I had my own little cheer when I found out that I didn’t break any bones when I dislocated two of my fingers in the game. Both fingers dislocated from the bottom knuckle and after spending three hours in the Emergency Department I got the all clear. Massive thanks to our team doc Brooke who popped them back into place with ease and thanks also for the green whistle.

The good news continued when we found out that our little ‘Sass Queen’, Liv Purcell, was nominated as this week’s NAB Rising Star. Liv is another favourite amongst the group. At 18-years-of-age Liv feels more than comfortable giving cheek to anyone, hence her nickname Sass Queen.

She takes that same sass out onto the field with her when she plays. Her fierce tackling, competitiveness and no nonsense attitude have made her so important to our midfield. I love that Liv is on our team and can only imagine how good she will be in a few years time.

Thursday we had training out at Deakin and we found out that even our coaches are kicking goals. At our team meeting it was announced that our forward line coach Aaron Black had been chosen to captain Geelong’s VFL side. Awesome work, Blackie.

Now we get to play at home again in front of a crowd of Geelong fans on Saturday. We will give you plenty to cheer about this weekend, I’m sure.