Entering the highest level of a sport as the number one draft pick can carry an immense weight of expectation, but it is something that Nina Morrison has embraced throughout her AFLW career and she is now regarded as one of the game's top players. 

A highly touted youngster, Morrison grew up in Geelong and did not pick up football until late in her junior years, but had a rapid rise that saw her feature for the Geelong Falcons and Vic Country in the AFLW Under 18 Championship. 

It led to the Cats selecting the talented midfielder with their opening selection in the 2018 AFLW draft, as the club prepared to enter their inaugural season in the competition. 

Fast forward eight years and Morrison is now set to reach another significant milestone, as she prepares to play her 75th AFLW game in Saturday's Qualifying Final against Melbourne. 

"Yeah for sure, I am super excited," Morrison said during her press conference. 

"Obviously it has been a bit of a long journey to get here, so to play 75 games is something I am super proud of. To do it in a Final as well is really cool. 

"It is pretty crazy to look back on my 18 year old self, seven or eight years ago now. I feel like I have changed so much, the group, the program has changed so much. It is kind of hard to compare back to 2019, with how much the whole set-up of AFLW has evolved.

"But I feel like I have been able to grow and develop alongside the competition and the program, and all the staff here as well. I feel like it has been a natural evolution of being involved in a program that is continually growing."

Morrison's career with the Cats got off to a bright start, as she made her debut in Geelong's inaugural AFLW match against Collingwood and received a Rising Star nomination for her performance, collecting 22 disposals and eight tackles to also receive a perfect 10 coaches' votes. 

But then adversity struck, as the young star ruptured her ACL at training in the following week, which forced her to miss the remainder of the 2019 campaign. 

Morrison made a strong return in 2020, but again ruptured her ACL in the final round of the season, which saw her miss the entire 2021 season. 

But since returning in 2022, she has found a greater consistency and has elevated her game to new heights, selected in two All-Australian squads and now co-captain of the Cats alongside Becky Webster. 

Taking on the leadership role has been an exciting challenge for Morrison, who said she has become more comfortable with it as the 2026 season has unfolded. 

"I have been pretty fortunate to be honest, to come in at a time where other things around me seem to be humming as well," Morrison said. 

"It sort of makes that role a bit easier when I have got Becky to lean on too.

"But then you have got staff and coaches that are playing their role to a tee as well, it means that you are not then having to take on those other loads and responsibilities.

"It has been a nice year to come into, and to come into it alongside Becky, has been really supportive."

With Morrison and Webster at the helm alongside new coach Mick Stinear, Geelong have pieced together a sensational 2026 campaign and have recorded 11 consecutive wins, securing a top-two spot on the ladder. 

The Cats will now head into a blockbuster Qualifying Final on Saturday afternoon against Melbourne, with a chance to progress to a Preliminary Final for just the second time in the club's AFLW history. 

For Morrison and some of Geelong's longer-serving AFLW players, it presents a chance to attack a Finals campaign and to mount a challenge for a premiership, an opportunity they have not had since the 2023 season. 

Reflecting on the past two years, Morrison said the talent and potential was always there, but the Cats have found a way to piece it all together in 2026. 

"I think that we have been disappointed the last couple of seasons to be honest, about where our performance has been," Morrison admitted.

"I feel like I have always looked at the group that we have had and the list profile, and thought that we could be playing better footy.

"In that sense, I would look at our performance and it doesn't feel like it has come out of the blue.

"I think that we have probably just unlocked a few things that were already there, and it is just about being able to do that all together and at the right time."