RICHMOND has signed Casey Demons inside midfielder Meg Macdonald as a replacement for Hannah McLaren.
Macdonald – not to be confused with Geelong skipper Meg McDonald – is a versatile product who has also played in defence for her VFLW team and averaged 16 disposals and eight tackles upon moving to the midfield.
McLaren, daughter of former AFL umpire Scott, will sit out the 2021 season with illness.
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"Hannah has been unwell due to a medical condition over the past month and unfortunately will not be in a position to participate this AFLW season," Richmond head of women’s football Kate Sheahan said.
"Hannah is a resilient character with a great network around her. She is a popular member of our group, and we all hope to see her back to full health soon.
"We will continue to support Hannah and her family however possible until she gets through this."
The 23-year-old Macdonald hails from Tyabb and is a former Seaford teammate of Sarah and Jess Hosking.
"Meg typifies the type of character we are looking for at the Tigers," recruiting manager Trent Mosbey said.
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"She finished last year strongly and won the Casey Demons 'trademarks and values award' for the way she prepares and goes about her football on and off the field.
"What caught our attention was Meg's ability to exit the stoppage with her power. She has good speed, explosiveness, excellent intensity, and contested ball-winning ability.
"We also highly regard her tackling, physicality and aggression at her opponents and ability to play in defence on different sized opponents.
"Meg has earned this opportunity off the back of her 2021 form and we are excited to watch how she continues to grow within an AFLW program."
Clubs are rushing to replace players who have already been ruled out for the season before the round one deadline, with McKenzie Dowrick (Adelaide), Maeve Chaplin (Melbourne), Olivia Meagher (Collingwood) and Beth Lynch (Richmond) all given an opportunity in recent days.
McDonald will wear No.38.
