Katie Lynch

Katie Lynch (born 20 April 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She had previously played for the Collingwood Football Club.

Katie Lynch
Lynch with Collingwood in February 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-04-06) 6 April 2000
Original team(s) Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 11, 2018 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 2, 2019, Collingwood vs. Melbourne, at Victoria Park
Height 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current club Western Bulldogs
Number 10
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019–2020 Collingwood 07 (1)
2021– Western Bulldogs 29 (0)
Total 36 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the S7 (2022) season.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life and state football

Lynch started with Australian rules football in the Auskick program at Canterbury, Melbourne.[1] She then continued to junior level with the boys at Camberwell Sharks, playing 77 games with them until the under-14s level.[2] During her year with under-11s, she was announced as the Yarra Junior Football League (YJFL) best and fairest and was selected for the V squad, a representative team of the YJFL.[3] At the age of 15 she joined the youth girls' team of Kew Rovers and played 34 games with them, winning Under 15 Girls Best and Fairest in 2015 and Youth Girls Best and Fairest in 2017.[2] In 2016, she fractured her right ankle and didn't return to playing until halfway through 2017.[4] In 2018 Lynch played for Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup and represented Vic Metro in the AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, playing in both midfield and forward positions.[1] During the 2018 season, Lynch was touted for an AFLW draft spot.[5] While representing Vic Metro, she was selected for the initial squad of the 2018 AFL Women's Under 18 All-Australian team.[6] Following this, Lynch also played two games with Collingwood VFL Women's (VFLW) team, the first one being against NT Thunder at Collingwood's home ground Victoria Park.[1] Lynch said that playing in the different competitions helped her adapt to different playing styles, as each one is a different kind of game.[7]

AFL Women's career

Collingwood

Lynch was drafted by Collingwood with the club's second selection and the 11th pick overall in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. The coach Wayne Siekman said that she's "a tall, big bodied midfielder who can also push forward. Katie uses her size to her advantage to win the ball and also push the opposition off. She has a very damaging left foot kick that rarely misses the target."[8] She made her debut in a loss to Melbourne at Victoria Park in round 2 of the 2019 season.[9][10] Following her debut, Lynch played in all six of the remaining matches of the season.[11]

Western Bulldogs

In August 2020, Lynch was traded to the Western Bulldogs along with pick #45 in exchange for pick #33.[12] As soon as Lynch came to the Bulldogs, she had an impact on the team. She played as a defender for the majority of the year. In her first game with the team she broke her career disposals record.[13] She had her best game for the season in the team's Round 8 loss to Adelaide, where she collected 14 disposals, 6 tackles and 3 marks.[14] After a successful season, she won the team's Best Young Player Award alongside teammate Jess Fitzgerald.[15] She signed a contract extension with the club in June 2021, after playing every game possible for the club that season.[16]

After an excellent season 7, in which she took the second-most marks across the AFLW and led the Bulldogs for intercept possessions and rebound 50s, Lynch was rewarded with both 22under22 and All-Australian honours.[17][18]

Personal life

Lynch grew up as a Richmond fan, barracking for them in a match against Collingwood a month before being drafted to Collingwood.[1] She studied at Carey Baptist Grammar School and was part of their Australian rules football leadership group.[1][19]

Statistics
Statistics are correct the end of the 2021 season.[20]
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 166102014349140.20.03.32.35.71.52.3
2020 Collingwood 16100235110.00.02.03.05.01.01.0
2021 Western Bulldogs 1090063208328220.00.07.02.29.23.12.4
Career 16 1 0 86 37 123 38 37 0.1 0.0 5.4 2.3 7.7 2.4 2.3

References
  1. Black, Sarah (28 October 2018). "Tigers fan now has 'a bit of black and white blood'". AFL Women's. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. "AFLW Draft". Yarra Junior Football League. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. "Sharks to AFLW – Katie Lynch's Path". Camberwell Sharks. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. Montesano, Julia (5 July 2018). "Lynch overcomes it all to achieve her Nationals goal". Aussie Rules Draft Central. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  5. Prime, Toby (1 March 2018). "Hannah McLaren, daughter of former AFL umpire Scott, looming as one of Oakleigh Chargers' top AFLW draft prospects". Herald Sun. Retrieved 6 May 2020. O'Shannessy said Katie Lynch would also attract the attention of AFLW scouts throughout the season.
  6. Black, Sarah (16 July 2018). "Vics dominate AFLW U18 All Australian squad". Australian Football League. Telstra Media. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  7. Montesano, Julia (2 November 2018). "Taking opportunities pays off for Katie Lynch". Aussie Rules Draft Central. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. "AFLW Draft: Who the Pies picked". Collingwood. Telstra Media. 23 October 2018. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  9. Mullan, Alanna (7 February 2019). "AFLW: Lynch to debut". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. Edmund, Sam (9 February 2019). "Melbourne scores first win of season, Collingwood held to equal-lowest score in AFLW history". Herald Sun. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  11. "Katie Lynch". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. Lewis, Tash (6 August 2020). "Collingwood farewell Lynch in pick swap". Collingwood. Telstra Media.
  13. "St. Kilda WFC vs Western Bulldogs WFC". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  14. "Adelaide WFC vs Western Bulldogs WFC". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  15. "Your club's B&F: Second-year Saint claims top gong again". AFL Women's Media. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. "25 Bulldogs locked in for AFLW 6.0". 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  17. "Lynch earns maiden All Australian honours". 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  18. "Lynch, Brown selected in AFLW 22under22". 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  19. "Girls Footy – We love it!". Carey Baptist Grammar School. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  20. "Katie Lynch – Player Stats By Season". Australian Football. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
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