Kate Surman says her new status as a Geelong Cats player probably won’t “really feel real” until she makes the move back to Victoria, but it will be a homecoming of sorts for the lifelong Cats fan. 

The forward/midfielder became a Cat earlier this month via a trade with Port Adelaide, which saw Maddy Keryk and Pick 12 head to the Power, and relishes the chance to pull on the Hoops for AFLW Season 8.

“It’s a bit of a dream come true – I’m 31, so it’s a dream that I never thought would actually be a dream,” Surman said.

“Growing up as a Cats supporter and then playing and then having my own Cats guernsey is a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and a bit of a dream.

“It’s surreal at the moment, but I’m sure it will sink in once I’m down there.”

Surman – who now lives in Tweed, just south of the New South Wales-Queensland border – grew up in Ballarat, and fondly recalls the last time she was at Kardinia Park, before many of the grandstands were developed.

“I already feel connected to the club without being down there,” Surman said.

“It will be weird, because the last time I was at the stadium it was (just) called Kardinia Park, when I was a little tacker, where the grandstand used to be grass, and you used to stand, and I probably had a woollen jumper on.

“It’s not really going to feel real until I get down there, but I just want to lap it all up.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I can’t wait to go and play some footy.”

Surman spent the first three seasons of her AFLW career with Gold Coast – a little over an hour’s drive from Tweed – before heading to Port Adelaide last year to play with the expansion side in its first season.

But still living in Tweed in off-season – and with so many of her family and closest friends in Victoria – Surman felt the time was right to look at taking her footy to Victoria.

“I’ve got a lot of family and friends in Victoria, and one of my best mates just had a baby, so just that opportunity to be around there for her, and even just to hang out with friends that are more like family to me (was appealing),” Surman said.

“I think that if I’m going to spend some time away from my other half, I might as well be in a place where they are. I’m excited for that.

“I enjoyed my time in Adelaide … (but) once I figured out, ‘I probably should go to Victoria’, then I was like, ‘Why don’t I try to go and see if I can play for Geelong?’.”

Surman has been earmarked for a high half-forward role with the Cats, a position that will suit her strengths well. However, the 31-year-old said she is happy to play any role that the team needs from her.

“My best position is that high half-forward, so it’s more that connector from the midfield to the forward line,” she said.

“With there being quite a strong midfield group, my role will be trying to connect that forward half. I think the ball gets down there, it’s just that matter of getting the deliveries a little bit easier for the forwards.

“But my other job is to get to the feet of the bigger players, because I’m not a real tall target, so if I can just help create some scoring opportunities (that’s my aim).

“I’m not often the one that’s the scoring one, I see my job as more of an assister, but to be honest I’ll just do whatever they want me to do, whether it’s playing on the field, sitting on the sidelines, sitting on the bench, I’ll just do whatever.

“I’m very team-first and team-focused. I’ll just do whatever I have to do for the team.”

Having spent time at two different expansion sides during their early years, Surman understands some of what Geelong has gone through to get to where it is, and after the Cats had a promising Season 7, she is eager to do her bit to help them continue their journey in 2023.

“The super positive thing is I think the team has realised if you play a role and you are very team-oriented and team-first, that’s how you win games,” Surman said.

“It’s not necessarily about stats or who does what, it’s more like everyone has their role, and I think that’s what created this success.

“Other than having a lot of talent, I think that is probably why the team is so successful. I think going forward, it's just building on that.

“This season just gone (has been) super successful, making finals which is awesome, but it’s making sure that’s not just luck, and showing the competition that no, it is not luck, it’s part of the plan.”

Surman is one of three new players on Geelong’s list for Season 8, with Irish duo Aishling Moloney and Anna Rose Kennedy announced as Other Sport Rookie signings on Tuesday.

The Cats have one more list spot left to fill, and hold the number-one pick for next Tuesday’s AFLW Supplementary Draft.