KEY FORWARD Claudia Gunjaca looks set to move down the field to cover for inactive Geelong defender Maddy McMahon.
All-Australian squad member McMahon (the 33-year-old is also a mum of three) has elected to take a break from football for the remainder of the year.
Cats skipper and fellow key back Meg McDonald told womens.afl the 24-year-old Gunjaca is likely to be the one to feature in defence in McMahon's absence.
"'Mads', I can't actually express my love for who she is as a person, as a friend and what it's been like to play with her. She's extraordinary," McDonald said.
"We're all disappointed for her, that she isn't able to get up for this season. She's doing okay, I ran into her at a café a few days ago and we had an impromptu coffee. She's done such an amazing job for so long, playing with three kids, and I could waffle on about her forever, she's a legend.
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"Having said that, this backline is a system. We're pretty clear on role clarity down there at the moment, and Claudia Gunjaca is going to come in and play that really deep role with me. She's probably the one who's going to step into what Maddy's position might have been, and hopefully we can all play together again next year."
The Cats added midfield bull Mikayla Bowen (West Coast) and Melbourne attacking duo Jackie Parry and Shelley Scott over the off-season, with former forwards Phoebe McWilliams (Carlton), Jordi Ivey (Melbourne) and Steph Williams (Richmond) moving on.
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Ex-No.1 pick Nina Morrison finally got a full season under her belt earlier this year, following significant knee injuries, and is ready to take her game to a new level.
"Jackie Parry is so mobile and athletic, that's an element where we've had opportunities to add layers to our game plan, and having a really mobile forward line is key to that," McDonald said.
"So much of the improvement is going to come from within, Darcy Moloney kicked four in the practice match. It's been awesome to have Shelley Scott join us, she's about to play her 50th game of football, and no-one else at the Cats has done that, and she's had so much success. I'm trying to get her to come back behind the ball with me.
"I probably take Nina for granted, to be honest. I was thinking the other day, we get so excited speaking to each other about other members of the team, I need to take moments to tell her that she's flying, that she's fantastic."
The short turnaround between seasons has been difficult to manage for clubs from logistical and staffing angles, but for players from developing teams like Geelong (who finished 12th of 14 with two wins), it's been beneficial.
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"It's an awesome opportunity to double down on the improvements we felt we made in season six. There was hardly any break before the girls were back at it, and we're looking to take the next step in our game plan, with some notable new additions as well," McDonald said.
"I can't speak highly enough of the excitement around the group, but also the dedication to the task at hand. The longer we're in the competition, the more you don't know what to expect (from others). But you start by knowing what to expect from yourselves, and I think we're pretty clear on that.
"I don't know how it is for other teams, but certainly for ourselves, we had a lot of change at the start of season six, it was a lot of new ideas, content and people to take on, and I think we did really well with it. But it takes time to have that kind of stuff sink in, and then be able to add layers to it. To have the opportunity to do that sooner rather than later is great."
