Georgia Gourlay (born 23 March 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).

Georgia Gourlay
Gourlay with Collingwood in February 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-03-23) 23 March 1999 (age 25)
Original team(s) Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 32, 2018 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 1, 2019, Collingwood vs. Geelong, at GMHBA Stadium
Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Defender / Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019–2020 Collingwood 5 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2020 season.
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life and state football

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Gourlay started out in sports as a long jumper, but turned to Australian rules football after a serious knee injury.[1] Gourlay started out playing football for Cranbourne in the South East Football Netball League.[2] In the AFL Youth Girls National Championships, Gourlay represented Vic Metro, scoring the first goal of the 2014 AFL Youth Girls National Championships Grand Final loss to Western Australia.[3] During the 2015 AFL Youth Girls National Championships, Gourlay ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) for the first time and underwent a knee reconstruction surgery. Almost a year later, after rehabilitation, in her first game back she ruptured her ACL again and had to undergo knee reconstruction surgery once more. The year after she was ruled out of the 2017 season, due to her year 12 commitments as well as being diagnosed with tendinitis.[4] In 2018, after more than two years of injuries, Gourlay returned to playing football. She played for Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup, being considered an "outstanding leader with silky skills to match".[5][6] She also signed with Casey Demons for their VFL Women's (VFLW) season alongside Jordyn Allen and Maddie Shevlin.[4][6][7]

AFL Women's career

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Gourlay was drafted by Collingwood with the club's seventh selection and the 32nd pick overall in the 2018 AFL Women's draft.[8] The coach Wayne Siekman said that "she is a fantastic person with great resilience."[9] She made her debut along with seven other players in a loss to Geelong at GMHBA Stadium in the opening round of the 2019 season.[10][11][12] She went on to play five games in 2019.[1][13] In round 4 of the 2020 AFL Women's season, Gourlay ruptured her right anterior cruciate ligament during training, for a third time.[13][14] In August 2020, Gourlay was delisted by Collingwood.[15]

Personal life

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Gourlay grew up supporting Carlton, a club who have a long lasting rivalry with Collingwood, the club that drafted her.[4]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct the end of the 2020 season.[16]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2019 Collingwood 32 5 0 0 23 1 24 9 6 0.0 0.0 4.6 0.2 4.8 1.8 1.2
2020 Collingwood 32 0
Career 5 0 0 23 1 24 9 6 0.0 0.0 4.6 0.2 4.8 1.8 1.2

References

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  1. ^ a b "Georgia Gourlay". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. ^ Potter, Jarrod (26 May 2015). "Georgia's up with the twists of fate". Cranbourne Star News. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. ^ "WA Turn the Tide on Vic Metro to Win Title". AFL Community. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Mullan, Alanna (7 January 2019). "AFLW: Gourlay's tough road to the top". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. ^ McEvoy, Simon (22 February 2018). "Dandenong Stingrays unveil their 2018 TAC Cup girls squad". Herald Sun. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b Wildes, Hayley (5 March 2018). "Stingrays look to the future". Dandenong Star Journal. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. ^ O'Loghlen, Darcy (29 October 2018). "VFLW: Keeping extends until end of 2019". Melbourne. Telstra Media. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. ^ "AFLW draft: Casey Demons Georgia Gourlay selected by Collingwood". Herald Sun. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  9. ^ "AFLW Draft: Who the Pies picked". Collingwood. Telstra Media. 23 October 2018. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  10. ^ Mullan, Alanna (31 January 2019). "AFLW: Pies name team to face Cats". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Match Details: 2019 R1 Geelong WFC vs Collingwood WFC". Australian Football. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  12. ^ Black, Sarah (2 February 2019). "Match report: Cats edge Pies in historic debut". AFL Women's. Telstra Media. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  13. ^ a b Black, Sarah (3 March 2020). "UPDATE: Scans confirm the worst for star Magpie and young Saint". AFL Women's. Telstra Media. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  14. ^ Wood, Lauren; Williams, Rebecca (2 March 2020). "Collingwood suffer double blow as ACL injuries mount in AFLW". The Australian. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  15. ^ Black, Sarah (3 August 2020). "Trade wrap: Tough Blue now a Tiger, Roos boost midfield". AFL Women's. Telstra Media.
  16. ^ "Georgia Gourlay – Player Stats By Season". Australian Football. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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