IT'S NOT easy taking over for one of the most beloved players in the AFLW, and your club's former captain.

But that's exactly what first-year Cat Evie Cowcher and backline partner Lexi Gregor were tasked with in 2026, and the pair have risen to the challenge.

Last year, Gregor earned her AFLW debut in round four as skipper Meghan McDonald was sensationally dropped from the side. Despite the selection storm surrounding her debut, Gregor has played all but one game since – the only absence a result of a concussion – and cemented her key defensive position in the team that finished second on the ladder this season.

Cowcher, meanwhile, has played 12 of a possible 13 games so far in her debut season, missing only when she was rested on the eve of finals.

"She was my biggest role model," Gregor tells AFL.com.au of McDonald's influence on her career. "She's just such an icon, on and off the field. I looked up to her so much.

"I just think it's cool that we're able to come in and not take her spot, but pick up where she left off."

Where Gregor has had the baton passed down in terms of a role, Cowcher has taken over McDonald's No.11 guernsey - not that she knew it at the time. During our chat, Gregor is quick to point out - in a light-hearted way - that Cowcher wasn't initially aware of the number's significance. The banter is evidence of the dynamic between the two, who clearly run on the same wavelength.

It draws a laugh from Cowcher, and a confession.

"Everyone was telling me about it when I came in, and I was like, 'fair enough'," she says. "I could tell the legacy that was left at the club, so it's been very good to wear the number."

The chemistry between the two just works. They have the same sense of humour, although Gregor is more exuberant, and Cowcher drier. They control the gym playlist (Locomotion by Kylie Minogue is their jam), and the environment has helped to draw West Australian Cowcher out of her shell in her first year away from home.

They joke that although Cowcher has moved across the country for footy, she sees family more regularly than Gregor, who is just three hours from her home of Moama on the NSW-Victoria border.

"I've kind of had to get out and explore and make new friends and make new safe environments and whatnot," Cowcher says. "So, I feel like (the club) has definitely played a massive role, they've made me feel just safe and welcome here. So I can do what I want to do and say what I want to say."

Although Cowcher has spent time making a new town home, and establishing a host of new friendships, she has also stayed in touch with an old pal, star Swan Zippy Fish.

The pair played their junior footy with Peel Thunder, and have both emerged as exciting young defenders since hitting the AFLW over the past couple of years. Now, it's all on the line in a do-or-die final where they will face one another for the first time at AFLW level, all while speculation continues as to where Fish will be playing next season.

Cowcher admits she has been getting in the ear of her old teammate about joining her in Geelong, although she's unsure if it's been effective or not.

"I tried to get her to come down the day I got drafted," she laughs. "We always support each other, no matter what she wants to do. What she's doing is pretty good."

As the Fish narrative rumbles on in the background, Cowcher and Gregor are determined to end Sydney's season in Saturday’s semi-final and bounce back from their own heartbreaking loss to Melbourne last week.

Geelong backline coach Sam Simpson has also leaned into the different personalities of the pair and enjoyed what each of them has to offer.

"That's my favourite thing about footy and footy clubs; it's always been about the people. You get people from all different walks of life - you bring them together with a common purpose. You otherwise might not have crossed paths with them," Simpson says.

"It definitely needs to feel like you can belong here and embrace the footy club, and then you get the performance off the back of that."

Being understood by your teammates and coaches is part of that embrace, and Cowcher has found that. Her nickname is 'Nonchalant' because of her calm demeanour.

"I love how she brings that to the group, and even more specifically to the backline group, and she just keeps that calmness out there," Simpson says.

"She looks like nothing phases her, that is a strength, and that's the one thing that we really love about Evie. She can play with that clarity in her mind."

For Gregor, it's a different button that needs to be pushed. Simpson has discovered that a joke at his own expense can be turned into a pressure release in tight moments and become a catalyst for his player to re-establish the right mental state to perform. All Simpson needs to do is say something about silverback gorillas, and Gregor is calm, relaxed and locked in.

"It came from a bit of a dig at me, really, from my lack of time in the gym. I like to make a joke when we're wrapping up dinner on a Wednesday night, it'll be 9pm and I'll say, 'Righto girls, I've got to head to the gym, I'll see you later'," Simpson says.

"They know I'm taking the mickey there, and so (Gregor) jumped on the back of it - 'Simmo the big silverback' - so I flipped it on her, and we turned that into a bit of energy for the group. Just embracing the contest in those moments and bringing that strength and playing to your strengths - being the silverback.

"It's something that just acts as a bit of a mental trigger for her specifically, and the group. It's trying to keep the fun in it; it keeps everything nice and level."

With just two losses from 13 games this year, the balance between focus and fun is working for Geelong.

And what better way to bounce back from a rare loss than a must-win final on their home deck?

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