Geelong has selected 2019 NAB League leading goalkicker Mia Skinner with selection 65 in the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft.
The 18-year-old forward is setting her sights on making an AFLW debut in 2020 after achieving her goal of getting drafted by the Cats.
“I think it’s been a goal for me, probably from when I was little, but it only became real last year,” Skinner said.
Skinner will hope to add another dimension to the Geelong forward line after booting 19 goals from 10 NAB League matches.
“I’m a really attacking player, I like to keep the ball going forward and kick a couple goals,” Skinner says.
“Kicking goals and being accurate on the scoreboard is one of my main strong points. Hopefully I can continue that into this league and do as well as I can.”
The Geelong Falcon knows how to stay involved even if she’s not amongst the goals, being named the side’s most consistent player in 2019.
“Even if you’re not hitting the scoreboard you’ve got to be doing everything else and keep getting touches,” Skinner says.
“Even if you’re handballing it to a teammate to kick a goal, you’ve got to make sure you keep that going throughout the game.”
Skinner lined up in one VFLW outing for the Cats in June and relished the step up to a higher level of competition.
“The ball moves up and down the ground a lot faster. It’s definitely a better pace and it’s not as scrappy and going up and down more and getting some free run is good,” she says.
“I’ve only ever played one game and had two trainings with them (VFLW side), but they were always getting around you and it was really good.
“The training will really help with all the other girls giving me some confidence in myself and knowing that I’m supposed to be here. I’m just really excited for everything that’s coming ahead.”
