Alexis Gregor is heading into her first AFLW finals series with Geelong, the Cats entering in second place with an 11-1 record. Photo: Matt Turner/AAP
It’s finals time in the AFLW and a local girl is right in contention to claim the premiership flag.
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In her second year in the league, Moama junior Alexis Gregor and Geelong finished the regular season second on the ladder and the Cats are among the leading contenders to prevent a North Melbourne three-peat and take home the title.
It marks a huge turnaround for Geelong after a middling 2025, Gregor’s rookie season, where the club finished 5-7.
“It’s pretty crazy to look back to where we were last year,” Gregor said.
“We weren’t even getting a look in at finals and now we’ve finished second on the ladder.
“It’s pretty cool, I feel so grateful and happy that I landed at Geelong and we’ve put in the work, so it’s really exciting.”
An 88-20 win over the Western Bulldogs on Friday earned the Cats the record for most points in an AFLW season (871).
Geelong lost only a single game this year, in round one, against two-time premier North Melbourne, and come into the finals on an 11-game winning run.
“We’ve grown so much since the first game and we’re a completely different team,” Gregor said.
“I feel like there have been a lot of comments about our fixture and how easy it was, but we’ve faced teams that were in the top four last year or in the eight this year and we’ve beaten them by pretty big margins, so I don’t think we should be counted out.
“I honestly do think we are a massive chance.”
Alexis Gregor in Moama ahead of the draft in 2024.
The Cats also rank inside the top eight for points against, with Gregor a key cog in the backline, playing across full-back and half-back throughout the year.
The key defender is averaging 5.9 disposals and 2.4 tackles.
“I’m obviously biased, but I think the back line is the best line to be in,” she said.
“There’s something so special about being the last line of defence, it’s up to us to stop the goals and I think we all really lean into that.
“We complement each other really well and have a really good balance between knowing when to lock in and when to ease off of a bit.”
The Cats selected the Moama junior 10th overall in the 2024 AFLW draft.
Gregor credited much of the Cats’ huge improvement to the appointment of coach Mick Stinear, who took over the role in December.
Stinear was the inaugural boss of Melbourne’s AFLW side and was in charge for 101 games between 2017 and 2025.
“Our coach has been absolutely unreal, so emotionally intelligent and he’s brought us all together and completely flipped our culture around,” Gregor said.
“There’s so much love and appreciation in the group and we play for each other, and you can definitely really feel that when we’re playing every week.
“If you don’t meet the standards, you’re not a Geelong person.
“There’s a certain level that we need to be at and he’s brought us to that level and brings out the best in all of us.
“He makes you want to be a better person and a better player.”
Stinear’s former side will be the opposition this Saturday when the Cats play the Demons at IKON Park from 1.05pm, the first of a double header of qualifying finals at the venue.
The two sides didn’t face off in the regular season.
Minor premier North Melbourne will face Carlton later in the day, before elimination finals between Sydney and Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast and Hawthorn on Sunday.
Gregor went to Geelong with the 10th pick in the 2024 AFLW draft.
Should the Cats win on Saturday, they will advance straight to the preliminary final, while defeat will send them to a sudden death semi-final against the Swans-Bulldogs winner.
Although she’s loving life in the big time, Gregor said she still got plenty of support from back home in Echuca-Moama, and loved a chance to return to her roots when time allowed.
“The support from everyone is so good,” she said.
“My family come to all my games and a lot of the footy girls from Echuca-Moama come down.
“Hopefully there’s a bit of home crowd support there on the weekend, but I do love going home and touching grass a little bit and switching off, it’s a really great place to go in the off-season.”
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