It’s been a notable addition to the Cats’ pre-season this pre-season: the Cats upping the stakes on the physicality front, according to veteran ruck Aasta O’Connor.

Led by who O’Connor refers to as the ‘original draftees’ from 2019 – the group of 20-21 year-olds at GMHBA Stadium – the Cats have put aside any niceties on the field when cracking into a contest, even against their own teammates.

“Sophie Van De Heuvel, Georgia Clarke, Becky Webster – these types of players, how they came back after the lockdown was just so impressive, physically, and they’ve taken that physicality at training to the next level,” O’Connor said.

“They’re smashing in and it’s not about being nice anymore: it’s about hitting in hard and making each other better in that training session, and those girls have been leading that. It’s been really impressive.

“The physicality has lifted so much over summer.”

Now entering her fifth year in the NAB AFL Women’s competition, O’Connor is one of the most experienced players on the Cats list, having previously played 12 games with the Western Bulldogs before the Cats entered the competition in 2019.

She is no stranger to success, having won four premierships at both VFLW side Darebin Falcons and QAFLW side Logan Cobras.

The 33-year-old said she was eager to run out in the blue-and-white hoops again, 325 days after the Cats played their last game at GMBHA Stadium – that one also against North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos.

“It’ll be good to play some footy – it’s been a long time and lots has changed in the world since the last time we played out here on GMHBA, but just to run out onto our ground (will be exciting),” O’Connor said.

“It’s an unspoken thing, but when you put the hoops on, you get a different feeling in your body.

“I talk about this a bit, but as soon as you put that jumper on and you’re in the race with your teammates, it’s a pretty good feeling, so I can’t wait to feel that again.”

Geelong rucks O’Connor and Rene Caris have been working under the tutelage of new ruck coach Jess Foley over the pre-season.

O’Connor said the former Adelaide premiership ruck had been an invaluable resource.

“Jess has been fantastic,” she said. “I think it’s because she’s so close from having come from the game as a player.

“She adds some real insight for Rene and myself: how to take on our opponents, giving us those tips and tricks she used when she was a player.

“But just having a level head and someone who’s been around sport a long time, she’s really good to have around the program.”

True to form, O’Connor couldn’t resist the urge of a friendly barb.

“She’s not that funny though, I must admit. She’s South Australian, so you don’t get a lot of humour out of her,” O’Connor said with a wry smile.

The Cats open their 2021 NAB AFL Women’s season this Sunday at GMHBA Stadium at the new time of 12.10pm AEDT.

For fans heading to the game, tickets must be purchased online via Ticketmaster prior to the match.

You can click here to get your ticket. Remember, members get in for free by using their Membership barcode when purchasing a ticket. Tickets are $10 for Adults, under 18 are free.