NEW GEELONG coach Mick Stinear has landed a significant first hire in his new role, with the club poaching North Melbourne's dual AFLW premiership assistant Ryan Pendlebury to its staff for 2026.

Pendlebury will join the Cats as part of Stinear's coaching panel following a successful two years at the Kangas, where he never lost a game and helped lead the side's midfield group to flags in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

The brother of Collingwood champion Scott, Pendlebury combined his North Melbourne coaching duties with a stint playing for the Geelong-based St Mary's last year and will now make the move to GMHBA Stadium.

Stinear was announced as Geelong's new AFLW coach earlier this month, having stepped away from his position as Melbourne's inaugural women's coach a few weeks earlier following 10 seasons in charge.

A series of clubs have been expected to target North Melbourne's successful AFLW program for roles across this coming off-season, with fellow Kangas assistant Rhys Harwood another seen as a senior coach in waiting.

Harwood is expected to figure prominently in Melbourne and Richmond's coaching search in the coming weeks, as the clubs look to replace Stinear and Ryan Ferguson respectively.

Sydney is another side with an AFLW coaching vacancy following the departure of Scott Gowans, while Adelaide replaced two-time premiership coach Matthew Clarke with highly rated Brisbane assistant Ryan Davis recently.