AFLW: Fremantle Dockers midfielder Megan Kauffman poised to play first final for club after wild ride to AFLW

Fremantle midfielder Megan Kauffman is around the same age as some of her teammates that have already tasted finals footy. But the 27-year-old, who was recruited two years ago as a mature-age player, is preparing for her first taste of it. Ten players set to play in Saturday’s elimination final against Essendon at Fremantle Oval also played in the Dockers’ most recent final, a preliminary final defeat to Adelaide in the first season of 2022. And while the club was at the peak of its AFLW power in 2020, Kauffman was still playing college tennis in the United States. Soon after she reached No.9 in the NCAA doubles rankings, Kauffman returned to Perth, began playing amateur football for Wembley and nine games later she was drafted. But at pick 77, even the Dockers’ couldn’t have hoped for a reliable midfielder that has not missed a single match since arriving at the club. Now Kauffman has put the rest of the finalists on notice, declaring her team can go all the way. “I’m really excited, we have really built coming into finals, we have built a really great connection and we are really coming in with some form,” she said. “I am just really excited to be a part of an amazing group and to keep going and keep charging on. “It’s an all-in effort and we have really created a strong connection through that. I think that puts us in really good stead — a force to be reckoned with.” Fremantle shaped their run to the finals this year in the off-season. They landed experienced recruits Ash Brazill, Gabby Newton and Aisling McCarthy, who have been among their best players. Kauffman said she has learnt plenty off McCarthy, who has reemerged as one of the league’s best midfielders this year. “Ash has played at a couple of different clubs and then has that Irish gaelic background,” she said. “She is a real leader on the field and just a great footy IQ. I have learnt so much from her and same with Gabby Newton.”