Down Under

Cavan’s 19-year-old standout Ellie Brady will also make the move Down Under.

LAST UPDATE | 9 Dec 2025

CORK DUAL STAR Aoife Healy has signed with AFLW side the Fremantle Dockers on a two-year rookie deal, the club have confirmed.

Healy, who started at centre-back for Cork in this year’s All-Ireland camogie final, is one of four Irish talents to have announced moves to Australia in the last 24 hours, with Waterford’s Emma Murray signing with Geelong, Tyrone’s Aoife Horisk choosing Melbourne, and Cavan’s Ellie Brady committing to Collingwood.

Fremantle’s AFLW list manager, Darryn Fry, said the Dockers were thrilled to welcome the 21-year-old Healy, who has played inter-county camogie and football with Cork since her Leaving Cert year.

Fremantle, he said, have been keeping tabs on Healy for the last 18 months, and have been impressed by her rapid development as she learns a new code of football.

“We first met Aoife during a talent identification trip to Ireland last year, and she caught our eye pretty quickly,” Fry said.

— Fremantle Dockers AFLW (@freodockersAFLW) December 9, 2025

“We’ve kept in touch with her management and watched her progress closely over the past 18 months and have been really impressed.

“There’s still some rawness, but the growth she’s shown with ball in hand in such a short time gives us a lot of confidence for next season and beyond.

“She’s tall, fast and highly athletic, with excellent repeat speed and a real competitive edge.

“She embraces the physical side of the game and in her Camogie background, she’s used to playing right in the thick of it.”

Healy will join fellow Irish players Áine Tighe and Orlagh Lally at Fremantle. She will travel to Australia for the club’s pre-season upon the conclusion of her college exams in May.

Meanwhile, Waterford football captain Emma Murray has signed a rookie deal with Geelong ahead of the 2026 season after this year becoming the first Déise woman to win an All-Star since 2007.

— Geelong Cats Womens (@catswomens) December 9, 2025

The 27-year-old Murray also captained the Comeragh Rangers to their first ever Munster football title last month after back-to-back county successes.

Ballymacarbry had previously won an astonishing 42 successive Waterford county titles before being defeated by Murray and company in the 2024 decider at Fraher Field.

Murray this year became the first player from her Rathgormack-based club to captain Waterford, and she will join the Geelong Cats as an Other Sport Rookie for 2026.

Elsewhere, Tyrone’s Aoife Horisk has chosen to bypass the draft and opted instead to sign directly with Melbourne for 2026.

Horisk was invited by the AFL to the AFLW Draft Combine, where she was the fastest woman over 20 metres and finished 10th in the 2km time trial around the athletics track.

As such, the three-year Tyrone star became a highly sought-after prospect across the league.

Melbourne see Horisk as as “an aggressive half-forward with the potential to move to high forward”.

— Melbourne AFLW (@MelbourneAFLW) December 9, 2025

Melbourne AFLW general manager, Clare Pettyfor, said that Melbourne were delighted that Horisk had chosen to become a Demon.

“We are incredibly excited to have Aoife join the red and blue,” said Pettyfor. “Aoife is a proven star of the Gaelic competition and her traits as an athlete make us very excited about what she can achieve in the game of AFLW.

“With her speed, aggression, workrate and ability to hit the scoreboard, we anticipate that she will be able to pick up the game of AFLW quickly.

“The club has previously had the opportunity to travel to Ireland and put Aoife through her paces and we were very impressed with how naturally she took to the oval ball.

“We look forward to welcoming her properly when she arrives in Australia in 2026.”

On Monday, it was confirmed that Cavan youngster Ellie Brady has signed a rookie deal with Collingwood.

The talented 19-year-old has joined the club as a rookie for two years, with the deal running until at least the end of 2027.

Brady captained the Cavan Minor team in the league and was part of the county’s senior squad this season, playing alongside former Collingwood star Aishling Sheridan as they captured the Ulster intermediate title.

“We’re excited to welcome a rising talent to our AFLW squad in Ellie Brady, and we can’t wait to see the impact she’ll have within our program,” said Collingwood’s executive general manager of women’s football, Jess Burger.

— Collingwood AFLW (@CollingwoodAFLW) December 8, 2025

“We’re equally excited to have Ellie join our program. Her speed, competitive drive and passion for playing at the elite level makes her an exciting addition to our list. She arrives with outstanding accolades from her Gaelic football background and we’re eager to support her as she transitions those strengths into AFLW.

“She brings her own leadership qualities and we’re looking forward to seeing her thrive in our environment and contribute to the continued growth of our program.”