AAA<\/p>\n
Erone Fitzpatrick is a star \u2013 All-Australian, Carlton leader and selected in the Irish representative AFLW side \u2013 but there\u2019s one thing about Australian rules football that leaves her baffled.<\/p>\n
Club loyalty \u2013 or rather, the lack of it.<\/p>\n
Hailing from County Laois in Ireland, Fitzpatrick helped lead them to their first Gaelic football title in over 20 years in 2022, before being poached by Carlton for the 2023 season.<\/p>\n
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Carlton\u2019s Erone Fitzpatrick will represent her homeland in the ALFW Aus vs Ireland clash.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
She played with the same teammates from age four to 23; switching clubs or counties is \u201cunheard of at home\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking to a lot of the Aussies here, they can\u2019t get over how loyal you are to your club and your county throughout your whole career,\u201d Fitzpatrick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would play with the one club for my whole football career, and I would play with the one county for my whole football career, and they couldn\u2019t get over that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we find it really strange, the whole trade period and people leaving clubs and going to different clubs and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitzpatrick hopes she can stick with her AFLW side in a similar way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love that,\u201d she said. \u201cYou never know what can happen in the future, but I think it would be very weird for me to go anywhere else. I think if you asked a lot of the Irish players, they would say the exact same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the AFLW\u2019s inaugural season in 2017, the presence of Gaelic football cross-coders has skyrocketed, with 44 active Irish players in the league and two inactive.<\/p>\n
Their effect has been profound. The Irish players play a lightning-fast and attacking style. North Melbourne, who have won two consecutive AFLW premierships, currently have five Irish players on their list, while the Brisbane Lions, Adelaide, Geelong and Carlton all have a strong contingent of Irish players.<\/p>\n
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Erone Fitzpatrick is one of 46 Irish players in the AFLW.Joe Armao<\/p>\n
The impact in Ireland has been seismic as well. On one hand, the game\u2019s popularity has surged, with Irish broadcasters showing AFLW games, dedicated 3am watch parties and growing fan bases on social media.<\/p>\n
But the amount of Irish-born players lured to Australia has also left a growing hole in Gaelic football pathways, especially in smaller regions,<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m from a very small county, not saying that I would have been a big fish, but I probably would have been at home,\u201d Fitzpatrick explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor my county to lose like someone like me is hard … because in a small county, talent is very limited compared to the bigger counties that have a huge pool of talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cCounties like Mayo have six girls playing in the AFLW \u2013 that\u2019s a huge chunk of unbelievable talent from one county.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s enough Irish talent in AFLW to make a representative game in the mould of State of Origin possible. Fitzpatrick represented Ireland in that match in Sydney<\/a>, in front of a sellout crowd.<\/p>\n Speaking in the lead-up, Fitzpatrick was thrilled to be part of it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents are flying out for the game, which is so important to me, and I\u2019ll also have my aunties, family friends, my grannies\u2019 next door neighbour,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make them proud, and I want to make all the young girls proud and know they can chase their dreams and be anything they want in life.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Now, the focus is on the upcoming AFLW season, which begins on Sunday at Marvel Stadium when Fitzpatrick\u2019s Blues take on the Saints before the clubs\u2019 men\u2019s teams do the same.<\/p>\n The Blues\u2019 women\u2019s side made it to a preliminary final last season, where they fell short against the Lions.<\/p>\n It was a meteoric turnaround \u2013 Carlton finished 14th in 2024 before introducing a crop of young, extroverted talent in 2025.<\/p>\n Fitzpatrick was a pivotal part of the resurgence last year, averaging 17.5 disposals and kicking 13 goals.<\/p>\n Related Article On field and on social media, fans noticed something different about the Blues \u2013 they were having fun.<\/p>\n Before every game, the team performed a dance and sang<\/a> Australia\u2019s unofficial national anthem \u2013 Untouched by the Veronicas \u2013 to ease pre-game nerves.<\/p>\n They booked in official line dancing classes and were taught choreography by youngsters Poppy Scholz and Meg Robertson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to keep chasing that joy,\u201d Fitzpatrick said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to chase last year, but we want to keep building on it. Keep building those foundation blocks \u2026 and still bringing the joy and finding the joy in it all because, ultimately, you play your best football when you\u2019re having fun, and we have a really fun group.\u201d<\/p>\n On a scale of 1-10, Fitzgerald\u2019s rates her dancing skills as a solid four, \u201cbelow average, but I can shake my hips and stuff, but that\u2019s about it,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Would The Veronicas still be their anthem, or will they start afresh and choose another song?<\/p>\n![\"Carlton](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/181a54159b2cc82021ddebddaffebaee5accd548.jpeg\")
Carlton star Erone Fitzpatrick was a pivotal part of the Blue\u2019s surge into the prelim finals. AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"St](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/56cd05eaa46ff3c512b762e71d520711ccc3a4f4.jpeg\")
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