Intensity surge lifts McDonald

GEELONG coach Dan Lowther says increased training standards helped “propel” star Amy McDonald to the next level.

McDonald capped off her finest season with a fifth-place finish in the AFLPA MVP Award on Wednesday night.

The 24-year-old came in behind winner Monique Conti (Richmond), Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne), Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs) and Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide).

Lowther said McDonald had no choice but to rise to another level of improvement.

“I think the competitiveness too among the group now, having Georgie (Prespakis) in there, Darcy (Moloney), Becky (Webster), Nina (Morrison) … our training standards have gone through the roof,” he said.

“They’re finding new ways now to motivate and drive, not just on game day, the midweek training match ‘sims’, they’re amazing to watch.

“As a collective, it’s helped her (McDonald) propel to the next level because she just has to.”

Morrison and Prespakis were the other Cats nominated for the MVP award, all three voted in by their teammates.

The three nominations from each club were then presented to every AFLW player who voted on who they thought was the MVP for season 7.

Geelong captain Meg McDonald was also recognised for her stellar campaign, coming in equal fifth for the best captain award.

Brooke Plummer was nominated as the Cats’ best first-year player and Annabel Johnson as the most courageous.

The AFLPA Awards capped off a stellar season for the Cats, who tallied their most wins in a season (seven) and made the AFLW finals for the first time since 2019.