FIRST draft, two captains. It's a pretty decent strike rate.

Geelong landed Nina Morrison and Becky Webster with its first and third ever AFLW draft picks back in 2018, with now-Bomber Sophie Van De Heuvel in the middle.

Local girl Morrison was selected with pick No.1, with Benalla's Webster quickly following at No.7, and eight years on, the pair (now 25 years old) will captain Geelong together.

"I was driving home on Friday night, and I was thinking it was crazy. Seems like yesterday we were kids walking into these four walls. I often have moments of vulnerability where I make eye contact with 'Neens' across the room or whatever we're doing, and we just want the best for this group, but also this footy club," Webster told reporters on Tuesday.

"I've been so privileged to walk into these four walls and feel like home. To just reflect and go, 'we get to lead that', is pretty special. Nothing you don't take lightly."

Morrison grew up a Geelong fan idolising champion leader Joel Selwood, and will now officially captain her childhood club after serving as acting captain last year.

"I look at photos of myself when I was six years old, full decked out in Cats gear with face-paint – I just loved going to the footy. It's pretty crazy to think I'm even here in the first place, but (also) having an opportunity to lead this club," she said, sitting next to Webster in the club's meeting room.

"It's been like a home. It's crazy you can just walk in here, not just on training days, but randomly on the weekend or when no one else is in here, and this is a place I just get to walk through. It's really cool to think I've got to grow up here, and a lot of my leadership has developed here as well. Hopefully we can continue to evolve in that space and create something really special."

Geelong's program has undergone significant changes over the off-season, with former captain Meg McDonald retiring, alongside stalwart Kate Darby, while the club parted ways with coach Dan Lowther.

"It was pretty emotional, to be fair, I think I just bawled the whole time Meg was doing her retirement speech. It does feel like home, so it feels like your family is going off onto its next adventure, and you're still here," Webster said.

"It's like a new chapter coming through, with the new girls coming through. Being here from the start, you go through this journey – even the other day, we had some girls who were part of the inaugural side come through, and that's going to be us one day. You walked in the door when we were 18, and there was no history behind the women's program. Now it's starting to evolve, and you reflect a lot more in those moments."

Former Melbourne premiership coach Mick Stinear has taken the reins, with both players simultaneously saying "it's been unreal" when asked about his impact over pre-season.

Ex-Cat Sam Simpson and highly regarded North Melbourne assistant coach Ryan Pendlebury have also joined the coaching panel, with the club acknowledging a need for greater resourcing within the AFLW program.

"It's been nice to have a freshness amongst the program. Obviously [Stinear] has so much expertise from his time in footy as well, I think he's come in and set the expectations pretty clearly from the start. Everyone's in a position where we just want to learn, really, so it's been awesome having him," Morrison said.

"Footy's a pretty simple game in the scheme of things, really. Everyone wants to play fast, attacking footy and score. Realistically, lots of game plans are similar to each other. I don't think there'll be massive changes, but as Becky said, it's a new way of describing things or learning things. 

"We've got a big focus on development and trying to individualise people's development plans. Having Mick but also the resources of the other assistant coaches here to be able to do that has meant we’ve had more time to make sure those development programs are set, and hopefully that's where we get a lot of the gains from this year."

After a preliminary final appearance in 2023, Geelong has finished 10th and 13th, despite arguably being the imperious North Melbourne's most troublesome side (alongside Melbourne).

"You play footy because you want to play games of football, and you want the ultimate prize at the end of the day, and in that sense, it's been a frustrating couple of years. The belief amongst the group hasn't wavered, and something I've been really proud of over the last couple of years is that you rock up on game day thinking, 'we're going to win today'," Morrison said.

"Hopefully we can start to get back to that form we were in a couple of years ago, but (also) building something completely new. We're not the team we were three years ago, we're not trying to be, but there's a real freshness among the broader footy club and the group. 

"We've underperformed in the sense we've been able to get really close or beat some of these top sides, then other weeks we won't. We've seen what our best football can do, and it's up there with the best, but just that consistency, finding that week-to-week is something we need to continually keep striving towards."

When it comes to how the pair will work together, it's safe to say the partnership developed over eight seasons as teammates will hold them in good stead.

"I feel like we bounce off each other quite well, to be fair," Webster said.

"I think Nina is just a f***ing workhorse, really, you've seen that in her young days as well. She really brings that standard of physicality on the track, wisdom around what the game's going to bring has been really great for the group, especially this young group coming through as well."

While Morrison is generally a little more serious, Webster can be counted upon to get around the group.

"You're probably a bit louder than I am as well, a bit more energy around the group," Morrison told her co-captain.

"I think I can be a bit head down, bum up at times, and Becky is more getting the vibes going and bringing everyone along with that as well. I think we should complement each other pretty well."