The QBE Sydney Swans Academy recently had a visitor from the other side of the Tasman, with talented 21-year old New Zealand athlete Killarney Morey spending the week with the club and playing in the Academy Women’s Winter Series game against the Giants.
Morey has been a part of the AFL New Zealand High Performance program for six years and is a three-time winner of the AFLNZ Women’s Player of the year award and travelled to Australia as she aspires to find a place in an AFLW team in the future.
Her visit was part of a budding relationship between the QBE Sydney Swans Academy and AFL New Zealand with the Academy looking to assist and provide more training and playing opportunities for talented juniors in New Zealand.
Morey started playing Australian Rules in the New Zealand Kahu Under 18 team at just 13-years of age and played until she was too old for the age group but with fewer opportunities in her homeland to go to the highest level, she has been fortunate to develop her game through several experiences in Australia.
The talented forward played for Tasmania in the NAB League in 2017 and 2019 and was selected in the Eastern Allies in 2019.
However, at the start of 2020, Morey ruptured her ACL,MCL and PCL and tore her meniscus which ruled her out of the game for quite some time.
Two years later and injury free, Morey jumped at the opportunity to cross the Tasman and be involved in the QBE Swans Academy program for a week.
“Coming over and playing for the QBE Swans Academy was my first game back since 2019 so it was so good to finally be back out there playing,” Morey said.
“I had such a great experience at the Swans, the team and the management were all really welcoming and supportive. I learnt so much at trainings and during the game and took away a lot in terms of the skills I can keep working on.
“I also learnt about the Swans history as a club and saw the behind the scenes of what goes on at the club too which was really interesting.”
After a week of walking the corridors in a football club and being around the inaugural Swans AFLW team, Morey is more certain than ever of her future aspirations.
“I would definitely love to get drafted,” Morey said.
“I know it would involve a lot of sacrifices like moving to Australia and working my way up but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Sydney Swans AFLW Senior Assistant Coach and Female Academy Coach Baker Denneman who coached Morey in her Sydney Swans debut in the Winter Series match said it was a pleasure to have her involved in the program and he was impressed with the New Zealander's drive.
“It was fantastic to have Killarney come across from AFL New Zealand and be a part of the Academy program for the week. She is a driven individual, who seeks nothing but the best for herself and her teammates,” Denneman said.
“She showed a clear understanding of the game, and demonstrated this through both her week of training, but more significantly in her game play. She gelled with the group from day one and created some lasting friendships within the open Academy group.
“In terms of her performance I thought she was outstanding for someone who had only been here for the week, and new to the environment. She played an array of positions across the ground, but showed plenty of promise when in the backline, and her trademark dash of speed on defence to offence transition. Coming from a high level netball background, she had the ability to think ahead, and be one step ahead of the game, which enabled her time to make decisions.
“Throughout the game, we put her into the midfield, and then rolled her forward for the last quarter. Throughout this period, she showed her versatility, and ability to be impactful in all areas of the ground. She even found herself on the scoreboard, after a classy finish to end the day on a high.
“She was a pleasure to have at the club and wish her all the best moving forward and hopefully we can continue to build a strong relationship between the Sydney Swans and AFLNZ.”
