KATE Hore has one of the toughest jobs in football this season.
Carving her own path as Melbourne captain after the retirement of the legendary Daisy Pearce.
The 28-year-old now has six seasons of AFLW under her belt, having joined the Dees as a basketball-playing rookie ahead of 2018.
A two-time All-Australian mid-sized forward, Hore is no stranger to producing her best under pressure, named Melbourne's best and fairest in last year's premiership season.
"It's been super exciting. It's obviously an incredible honour to be captaining the Melbourne football club, it's certainly not something that 10 or 15 years ago that I thought I'd be doing," Hore said.
"The biggest thing that Mick (Stinear) and the coaching staff have instilled in me is the reason I've got to this point is because I've been myself and I've just been genuine and authentic.
"I think my bread and butter is leading by example, setting training standards and holding girls accountable to things, that's something I'll continue to do. I'm really well supported with Tyla Hanks stepping up into the vice-captaincy role this season, and with Libby (Birch) and Rhi Watt coming into the group as well."
After seven seasons at the club, it's not just Pearce's on-field impact that Hore has missed.
"The Daisy legacy is obviously going to last [beyond her playing career], it will live on forever in our football club. She's obviously been a huge role model for me and someone I've looked up to since day one at the footy club," she said.
"It's been different without her, that's for sure, I miss her a lot – her presence, her footy IQ, even just things like her humour around the place, I really miss her funny jokes and her friendship as well.
"I think the mark she's left on our footy club is pretty amazing, and I think the girls are so lucky to have been inspired and empowered by Dais, and we're really looking forward to continuing on her legacy for years to come."
In the face of yet another tumultuous trade period driven by expansion clubs, Melbourne held firm and did not lose a single player to another team.
"It's pretty unbelievable, to be honest. I think it's shown the culture of the club, that we're willing to stick together. You never know, people might have wanted to move on after winning the flag, they might have been wanting to just hold onto that moment, but we've stuck together again from our premiership-winning team," Hore said.
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"Eliza McNamara coming back from her (traumatic back) injury, she's obviously gone through a lot over the last 12 months, but to be honest, she's come back stronger, faster, fitter. She's worked on her kicking game a lot, her kicking efficiency has improved out of sight, so she's definitely one to watch on the wing.
"Aimee Mackin, our new Irish recruit, sister of Blaithin, I'm really excited to see what she can bring this season. I think the best thing about Irish girls is that they're so unpredictable, and they're always fast. I don't know what is going on in the water in Ireland, but they're always super quick."
Hore nominated Eden Zanker as an established player to keep an eye on, the highly talented but occasionally inconsistent tall coming off a 14-goal season from her 13 matches.
"There's obviously a vacant forward spot (Pearce's) that someone needs to fill, and she's been playing that full forward/deep forward role in the (practice) games so far, she's excelled. Her bodywork has improved out of sight, so she's definitely one to watch," Hore said.
"Even some of our younger girls who have been on the list for a while – Shelley Heath, Alyssa Bannan, Meagan Fitzsimon – they've had another year of development, and no doubt they're going to shine this season."
