SATURDAY will see Melbourne reach several milestones, with the most obvious being the club's maiden AFLW Grand Final appearance. Flying under the radar, however, is head coach Mick Stinear's 50th game at the helm. 

Living down on the Surf Coast, Stinear has a full time role in footy - a rarity in the women's game as it stands - and two small children, so plenty to keep him busy. 

"It's not a lot of downtime, but life's pretty good. I get to work full time in footy so I'm certainly not going to complain," Stinear told womens.afl. 

One of two remaining inaugural coaches alongside Craig Starcevich, Stinear has missed just one match since round one 2017, opting not to fly to Perth late last season to be present for the birth of his second child, and reaches the milestone just a couple of weeks after Starcevich. 

"He's such a genuine, caring person," inaugural Demon Shelley Scott said. 

AFLW GRAND FINAL Get your tickets here

"He doesn't just care about you as a player, he cares about you as a person, and I think he understands the importance of football in our lives, but also understands how important other things are in our lives and getting a good balance between those genuinely brings out the best of us." 

"When you feel like someone cares about you as a person, and there's a strong relationship there, it just makes you want to play harder for them." 

This care extends not just to players, but to his fellow coaches. Senior assistant coach Jane Lange pointing to the environment cultivated by Stinear. 

"He creates an environment you want to be in, and that's probably a huge driver as to why there's been such a consistent core group at the club as well," Lange said. 

'WE DON'T FEAR THEM': Pearce on powerhouse Crows, retirement rumours

Stinear has built a culture of improvement, and always striving to be better both on field and in the coaches box. 

"Like with the players, he sees my strengths and really actively tries to encourage me to utilise them... he just constantly encourages you to put your best foot forward. 'These are your strengths, and we want you to bring them', and that just gives you such confidence to just get out there and do it," Lange explained. 

"That has shaped my growth as a coach." 

Developing coaches passionate about women's footy is something Stinear sees as "a big part of [his] responsibility" as an AFLW head coach. These relationships with his coaching panel are something he sees as two-way education. 

"From a relationship point of view, I don't claim to have experienced a lot of what our women have been through, and the lens I've lived my life through is different to how they've lived theirs, so you do need that diversity in coaching," Stinear explained. 

"Without that I would not be able to do what I do; we would not be in the position we are as a team without our whole coaching group. It's a full team effort." 

GRAND FINAL PREVIEW Where will the premiership be won and lost?

Having been around since the birth of the AFLW competition, Stinear can reflect on the changing face of new recruits, and has found balance between older, experienced players and sheer young talent on his list as they barrel toward the Grand Final. 

The Demons have won the second-most games in AFLW history, claiming victory in 36 matches - 35 of which Stinear was in charge - with an average score of 39.8 points. He has led one of the most consistent teams the competition has seen.  

But it hasn't all been easy. 

"I think the challenge has been having a group of really driven players that want to get better and have limited windows to be able to do that, or limited finances to be able to pay them," Stinear said. 

"They give up a lot of their own time. They come to the gym before work, they come to skills after work, in their off season it's all voluntary so they're not getting paid for it, but they do it because they want to get better.

"It would just be nice to see them get paid for it because they're doing it so they can best represent the club and showcase women's footy." 

'MY MIND WAS BLOWN' Prelim hero's memorable first trip to the MCG

The ultimate reward for all that hard work, however, would be a premiership on Saturday with Stinear and captain Daisy Pearce holding the cup aloft. 

Did you head to the footy over the weekend? Tell us your thoughts! Take the survey now