New Cats defender Millie Brown has made history by becoming Geelong’s first ever father-daughter selection following an announcement on Friday.
She is the daughter of ex-Cat Paul Brown who played 84 games for Geelong between 1990 and 1999.
Her father, a half-forward, played in both the 1994 and 1995 Grand Finals and kicked 66 goals for the club.
Geelong matched bids from other clubs for 18-year-old Brown, which will see her selected by the club in the upcoming AFLW draft on October 23.
Brown, who is currently in year 12 at Shepparton, said she was thrilled to be part of history.
“I feel very privileged to be a father-daughter selection, as not everyone gets that opportunity, so I’m excited to see what will come of it,” she said.
“I’m extremely excited to get stuck into training as it has been such a hectic year with school. I can’t wait to get started.”
Brown captained the Murray Bushrangers and co-captained the Victoria Country side. She played three games in Geelong’s VFLW team including an elimination final.
A key defender, Brown was named full back in the 2019 All Australian team as well as the 2019 NAB League Team of the Year after averaging 21 disposals across her seven matches.
A powerful kick, Brown’s composure under pressure and her decision-making abilities are amongst her strengths, according to Geelong Cats.
Brown is also school captain at Shepparton’s Notre Dame College.
Geelong AFLW List Manager Ben Waller said the club was thrilled to have secured the talented defender.
“It has been terrific to follow Millie’s development over the past couple of years and the club is thrilled that Millie has the honour of being the first father-daughter selection in our history.
“After playing a number of different roles in recent seasons, Millie took her game to a new level this year as a key defender with the Murray Bushrangers, AFLW Academy and Victoria Country.
“It was great to then see Millie take this confidence into her three VFLW games with us late in the season, where she looked at home in the hoops.”
