KATE Hore, Georgie Prespakis, Tyla Hanks, Tayla Harris, Aishling Moloney, Nina Morrison … there will be stars aplenty on the field when Geelong takes on Melbourne in Saturday's qualifying final.

But there's an off-field match-up set to unfold in the coaches box that's just as intriguing – veteran Mick Stinear going up against his former side Melbourne, now led by fresh face Tom Wilson.

Given the vagaries of the short AFLW season, this will be the first time Stinear will face his (old) Demons.

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"There's been some good banter during the week with a few of the players and the staff too. They're a team I know well, so I'm probably trying to find a balance of not getting too carried away with opposition analysis," Stinear said in his press conference on Friday.

"I feel like we've really evolved as a team over pre-season and the 12 home-and-away rounds, so we go into tomorrow's clash really confident that our game stacks up, and we're looking forward to the challenge of playing a really good side. 

"It'll be a bit weird at times, having spent so much time there, but excited for it and really proud of the work our group's put in – but it doesn't mean much unless you can produce [in finals]."

Stinear was a premiership coach at Melbourne, leading them to a second Grand Final appearance and plenty of finals over his 10 seasons in charge.

But he lives on Victoria's surf coast, and was spending hour upon hour driving up to Melbourne (about 90 minutes on a very good day), and then even longer down the other side of Port Phillip Bay when the Demons were training at Casey Fields (over two hours, one way).

It was common to request an interview with Stinear and be granted a chat while he was driving in an attempt to maximise his time, and he often would use the long hours to check in with players over the phone.  

Stinear considered stepping away at the end of 2024, but went back for one more year after that campaign had finished with a rare non-finals appearance, feeling like it was the wrong note on which to end.

The timing was then right for both Stinear – a father of two energetic young boys – and a chronically underperforming Geelong, who chose to part ways with Dan Lowther after the 2025 season.

It's rare to see an AFL/W coach switch clubs without a break of a few years or stint in the media in between, but Stinear did just that, swapping his navy polo for a marginally lighter shade of blue – and crucially, a much shorter commute of about 30-40 minutes.

He has signed a three-year deal at the Cats, taking him through to the end of the 2028 season, which will be his 13th season overall, a rarity in the women's game.

"Sleep's probably been the big one, it just built up over time. A footy season is almost like a washing machine, you get tossed around a bit and come out the end and regroup. But when you're in it, you give it everything," Stinear said.

"Over time, I realised I was getting a bit rundown – I loved it, but it reached an end point. I'm glad I made a change for my health and wellbeing, but it's also given me a chance to work in a new environment, another strong club and thoroughly enjoying it. 

"I've got much better balance, I'm coming into the club with a lot more energy, and my creativity is going up off the back of that, because I'm not just grinding from day to day."

The Geelong players are now experiencing that creativity firsthand, after years of tales from Melbourne players about Stinear's slightly unorthodox methods to shake up the grind of a season – an improv session, a dancing class, a costume or left-field branding or theming of a match.

One Cat recounted how Stinear appeared at the club on the first Monday of Pride Round wearing rainbow pants to help acknowledge and usher in the celebratory period in the AFLW calendar, and sung his praises about how quickly he's built connection.

"You lean on all your previous learnings, and you also lean on your existing staff you have here, with their understanding of the players' personalities and how to get the best out of them," Stinear said, commenting on how he's approached a season with a fresh group.

"I've probably had to be a little more patient, slow down at times and understand where the group's at, which isn't necessarily where I'd like them to be at, and just understand the background of this team, the players and what they've been through. A little more reflection."

On the other side of the equation is the coach who stepped into Stinear's shoes at Melbourne, Tom Wilson.

Like Stinear – who spent a year on Carlton's rookie list without a senior game – he harboured aspirations of playing AFL, but height probably stood in the way of both men, and Wilson spent over a decade at the Northern Blues/Bullants in the VFL, as well as another three with Collingwood's VFL program.

He started as Collingwood's head of AFLW development in 2024, also spending time in the men's VFL program, before crossing to Melbourne earlier this year in his first senior coaching role.

"I've loved every second of it. I feel really well supported with my assistant coaches that I've got, and going back to the start of the season with Shae Sloane (now on maternity leave) before I got the head role, she did a terrific job of setting up the program so I could come in and move collectively with the rest of the group," Wilson told AFL.com.au.

"Katrina Gill in her first year as GM has been nothing short of sensational, it's like she's been doing it for 10 years, she's been remarkable. That's before you get to the playing group. The longer the season has gone, the more obvious it's become that they're a really special playing group. They work extremely hard and are very well connected – we've had to rely on that a fair bit throughout the year."

It's been a baptism of fire for Wilson, handed a buffet of chaotic injuries, but managing to steer the experienced playing group through to another top-four finish, using 29 of 30 players in the process.

A disc in the neck of skipper Kate Hore flared up, Eliza McNamara was cleaned up with a bump that resulted in a three-week suspension and a seven-week broken jaw, Jacinta Hose landed on an opponent's heel in a ruck contest and busted her ankle, while star recruit Mia Austin needed throat surgery.

"They've been unique, absolutely. Some of them you just scratch your head and go, 'what even is that?' They haven't just been soft tissue. They've been lengthy injuries, too," Wilson said.

"I think one thing I've done reasonably well is tried to listen to the playing group, listen to my assistant coaches and not be closed off to open ideas. The other part I would like to think if you asked any of the players 'what's been consistent' from me, is that I've wanted them to continue to play to their strengths each week. 

"When I first came in, I spoke to the playing group about not necessarily changing or overhauling the whole program, because they've been successful for a period of time, it was about leveraging the work that's been done. Part of that is having to be adaptable, having to grow and learn and get better.

"Our player leaders have been sensational. When you spend 10 years with someone, and you build really strong relationships, like they do with Mick, and then you have change – it would be really easy to have some resistance, and I can absolutely say they've been the complete opposite. They've welcomed me with open arms, they've listened, they've helped drive the message that I want the group to know, and they've provided feedback in the appropriate manner."

After so many years of success with Melbourne, Stinear is now applying his coaching magic to Geelong, sending the Cats rocketing back up the ladder to a second-place home-and-away finish.

Key forward Jackie Parry has played under Stinear at both the Dees and Cats, and has seen how he's evolved personally, but also changed his methods to suit his new team.

"I'm sure he would attest to the fact he's grown as a coach, because he's been coaching for 10-12 years in W and coached heaps before that as well. He's got a really good read on the group and the results are showing the impact he's had on us," Parry said.

"He's come in and known exactly what we needed, stripping back the complexity and going back to basics, so when football becomes hard we know what to fall back on. Even in his reviews it's really process-driven – yes we had a big win, but there's plenty to improve on. He's got a really good read on the game but also knows how not to overcomplicate it.

"He's also got a real knack for connecting the players and actually caring about them from an off-field perspective as well. He knows what's going on for everyone, all the little things, and checks in about them. He's definitely a people person, but definitely a tactician as well."