AFLW Player Cathy Svarc (2019-)

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Welcome to the Den, Cathy Svarc

Cathy Svarc: Pick No. 16, 165cm, 25/11/91

• Medium midfielder/halfback
• Played in all three Lions victories in the QW Winter Series
• Awarded Wilston Grange’s Best and Fairest

The Lions have selected Wilston Grange’s Cathy Svarc with Pick No. 16 at today’s NAB AFLW Draft.

Svarc a mature-age recruit at 27 years of age, only started playing Aussie Rules two years ago.

She played as a medium midfielder or halfback in all three victories in the QW Winter Series for the Lions and was part of their AFLW train on squad in 2019. She is athletic and difficult to beat in a one-on-one scenario.

Svarc plays for Wilston Grange in the QAFLW competition and was named in the midfield of their Team of the Year. She was also awarded her Club’s Best and Fairest

Coach Craig Starcevich said he can see a lot of potential in Svarc.

“Cathy is extraordinarily athletic, quick, strong and has a huge tank,” he said.

“Her athleticism is what grabs your attention at first but she is also competitive and not afraid to throw her body at the contest.”

 

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Backing herself: Late start won't hold Lion back

TO SAY Cathy Svarc's introduction to football was unusual would be an understatement.

After playing netball for most of her life and dabbling in track and field through her school years, the dynamic Brisbane midfielder had occasionally kicked a Sherrin with her brothers, but nothing more.

She grew up in Corowa - a New South Wales country town 40 minutes from Albury - before moving to Geelong to start her physiotherapy career.

The introduction of the AFL Women's competition in 2017 drew Svarc's attention. She was quick, athletic, competitive and thought it was a sport she could play. And be good at.

But it took a move to Brisbane in early 2018 to put the wheels in motion.

"I thought it was a good time to have a crack and meet people," Svarc told womens.afl.

She was 26 at the time.

"I did the 'google search' on women's footy, and Wilston Grange was the closest (QAFLW) club to work and where I was living," she said.

"I rocked up there not knowing a single person, which was quite confronting, but that first session they saw something in me and I loved it straight away."

Her progression from then to the 23-disposal, 11-tackle, two-goal star in Sunday's win over Greater Western Sydney has been nothing short of remarkable.

Svarc is an exceptional athlete, blessed with speed and one of the three best endurance runners on Brisbane's list.

The question over such a late start to playing the game was her skill.

"Being a big sports person anyway it was frustrating that first year because I had the fitness, but I didn't have the skill yet.

"I had to go through the typical phases of skill acquisition, and being a physio and knowing it, it was so frustrating.

"I definitely felt confident in my ability, my work-rate and that I could back myself and that effort would always be there."

Svarc said Wilston Grange coach Laura Kidd was a big advocate for her ability, ensuring Brisbane and start-up Gold Coast knew of her progress.

She played for the Suns in a 2018 Winter Series game against the Lions, but following a trial day and ensuing train-on opportunity with Brisbane, was more comfortable staying close to home when the opportunity to get drafted came 12 months later.

At pick 16 in last year's NAB AFLW Draft, Svarc is already looking like a steal and one of the competition's hidden gems.

Not only were her numbers eye-popping at the weekend, but she also tagged Giants star Alyce Parker.

A similar job looms in Sunday's battle of the conference leaders against Fremantle.

"Once we look at some vision, we might have a player or two to target," she said.

"It's pretty exciting.

"I think our group has so much more potential as well.

"When we look at this game it's a big challenge, top of the table, but when we boil it down, we just have to remember our roles and not get caught up in it too much.

"Craig's (Starcevich) really focused on that the whole time, that pressure you can put on the opposition to give you the one-up.

"We can have a bit of confidence in our running capacity and the work we've done, to know we've got the engine to keep going."

 

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Lions tagger reveals secrets to her success

TAGGING.

It's a mysterious art, which sees a player perform a tight defensive role on the opposition's most destructive midfielder, while trying to win their own footy to boot.

And in Cathy Svarc, Brisbane has one of the premier defensive midfielders in the competition.

Still relatively new to the game – she was a netballer who first picked up a footy in earnest in 2018 – Svarc is building a reputation as a powerful tagger who has found that balance of stopping her player while finding the ball herself.

Last week against Collingwood, she held the previously unstoppable Brianna Davey to just 14 touches, and earlier this year held Richmond ball-magnet Mon Conti disposal-less in the first quarter.

So, what goes into tagging a player?

"The role is an interesting one. Essentially, you're given a role to try and take out one of the main ball-getters on the other team, looking at breaking their game down a bit and stop them getting involved," Svarc told womens.afl.

"I've got to know the game better and learned our structures more, especially this year being my second in the AFLW.

"It's easier having more experience. I had a role once or twice last year in that tagging position, and I was able to balance that offence and defence, and I think that's why they thought it was something we could continue to use more consistently this year.

"We always look at key players or how the different teams work together, but we'll have a closer look if we think there's a player we want to put a bit more pressure on. I'll watch their clips, see how they like to play and if there are any areas I can expose a little bit more."

Svarc – a physio away from footy – is in the top runners at the Lions, and her physical strengths come to the fore in a role that demands four-quarter focus.

"Generally, I'm quite strong, and that plays really well into the role. You have to have a lot of that constant pressure and accountability to the player," she said.

"It's definitely tiring, but I keep myself really fit and I use that strength and speed in that offensive nature as well, which is really helpful in balancing that out.

"It's a challenge, definitely, but I've got my head around it pretty well at the moment. It can be quite mentally taxing if you over-think it, you can get caught up in it too much.

"I don't know if we're going to do something specific like that until the end of the week, or whether it's going to be a match-up rather than a hard tag. I enjoy the challenge and [the satisfaction of] taking one of those players and making them less effective."

It's not a one-player job though, with tagging requiring the buy-in of the entire team: there's no point shutting down Davey if Jaimee Lambert is going to run riot as a consequence.

"We're trying to make sure everyone has that accountability to their players," Svarc said.

"Our pressure game is one of the strengths we like to bring each week, and we're always working on improving that. Having that little bit of extra pressure on a player – who's usually a dominant player out there – can work, but it also needs that extra support as well."

 

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Plenty of Svarc Spark Still to Come

You wouldn’t know it was only Cathy Svarc’s third year of AFLW by looking at her football resume.

She’s a Premiership player with a reputation as one of the toughest players in the competition to meet in a one-on-one contest, all while she’s yet to even notch up 25 games.

Collingwood’s Britt Bonnici learnt that the hard way on Saturday, when Svarc restricted the experienced Collingwood midfielder to her quietest game of the 2022 season at just 16 disposals.

A tough-as-nails midfielder, Svarc laid 12 tackles of her own in Saturday’s win, while also creating plenty of opportunity off the ball for her teammates in what was her strongest performance of the season so far.

As she settles into her third AFLW season, Brisbane Lions AFLW Head Coach Craig Starcevich believes we will start to see more performances like these from Svarc.

“It’s been a shame that with the COVID-interrupted start to our season that we’re only just starting to see a glimpse of the Cathy we saw last year,” Starcevich said.

“She’s someone that's able to be offensive herself but she's also able to restrict the opposition.”

“She did a lot of that last year against quality opposition, and she helped us out against Collingwood with another quality opponent.”

“As we start to get some consistency back in our season, I’d expect we’ll start to see more like what we saw from Cathy on Saturday.”

 

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From the family farm to the big stage: Competitive sisters inspiring Lions

CATHY and Ruby Svarc love nothing more than competing.

Whether it was against each other as children where they would sprint around their home in the quickest time possible, or against opposing AFLW teams, helping Brisbane to a third straight preliminary final with a contagious desperation that inspires their teammates.

If it's a competition, the Svarc sisters are in.

Two of five siblings that grew up on the family's farm on the Murray River near Corowa, 45 minutes west of Albury, the pair were born into adventure.

And although they wouldn't take up competitive sport until their mid-teens, that didn't stop them from wanting to one-up each other at everything.

"We had a massive garden and all this lawn area to play games," Ruby told womens.afl.

"We played soccer, we played badminton, volleyball, cricket. We were kind of out of town, so we had to make our own fun.

"It was always competitive.

"Whether it was games, board games, card games, racing each other around the house, who could do it quickest. We'd race each other on bikes.

"We were always trying to outdo each other – who could do the longest handstands."

That "massive garden" Ruby speaks of is a 400-acre property that runs poultry and cattle and harvests mixed crops.

"We had to be fairly creative. We'd say, 'We're bored' and mum would say, 'Go outside'," Cathy continued with a laugh.

"We'd go on little adventures around the farm, or we'd play games, two v three. That's what I remember. We'd be outside playing all the time."

With older sister Simone and younger siblings James and Caroline to fill out the numbers – the five were all born in a seven-year span – there was always something happening.

Cathy and Ruby were always good athletes, as explosive at sports day sprints as they are now on a football field, and once they hit high school, convinced their parents to play club netball, the first time they would be put into a structured environment.

Ruby says it was here, as a 14-year-old, that she fostered habits that would last a lifetime.

"My first two years we lost every single game," she said.

"My third season we won our first game maybe five rounds in and the euphoria we felt winning was amazing.

"We always went in as hard as we possibly could no matter what the score was.

"For me, as a footballer or athlete, if we're down on the scoreboard, it doesn't bother me. There's always that determination to win, no matter what the score is.

"We're not put off by the score if we are losing. It won't change the way we play, it only actually makes me play harder."

Ruby left home at the age of 19 and headed to Melbourne to finish her university degree and begin working, while Cathy would find her way to Geelong to begin life as a physiotherapist.

It was here their life would take a huge twist.

With the AFLW in its first season in early 2017, the sisters would sit at Cathy's place and watch on.

Their extended family were into Australian Football, so they'd always been exposed to it and had an interest, but never had an opportunity to play.

"It sparked a bit of interest," Cathy said. "We thought, 'Jeez, that'd be pretty cool'."

With the seed planted, Ruby would head along to St Mary's Salesian in the VAFA to give the sport a go. She loved it instantly.

At almost the same time, Cathy had moved to Brisbane to continue her work career and headed along to Wilston Grange.

"Ruby had just started and told me to have a go. I just needed a bit of a push," she said.

"I didn't know anyone there. It was the first time in my life I'd rocked up not knowing anyone – I'd only been in Brisbane a month or two.

"I rocked up at Grange and they welcomed me pretty quickly. Luttsy (Kate Lutkins) was there, Shannon (Campbell) was there. It opened some opportunities for me."

Amazingly, both sisters won premierships in their first seasons. Cathy would be drafted by the Lions in 2019, with her explosive pace, running power between contests and thirst for laying tackles eye-catching.

Ruby would head north 12 months later after starring for Essendon in the VFLW, finishing runner-up in the League best and fairest.

It took a year on the Lions list together before they'd run out in the same game – round three against Carlton in season six – but since then they haven't missed a beat.

Cathy, who is about to turn 31, is a critical part of Brisbane's midfield alongside Emily Bates and Ally Anderson, while her 29-year-old sister has slotted into the forward line with ease, using her speed to apply relentless pressure and create opportunities both with and without the ball.

Their impact can be summed up in one play against Essendon in round six. With the ball around 50m from Brisbane's goal, Ruby laid the perfect tackle on her Bombers opponent, and when the ball spilled free, Cathy was there to swoop, gather, run 15m and kick accurately as the three-quarter time siren sounded.

The next chance for the pair to compete comes against Adelaide at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.

One more win and the girls that spent the early years of their lives trying to beat each other on the vast spaces of a Corowa farm might just get the chance to lift a premiership trophy together for the first time.

 

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Sticking with the pride: Gun Lion turns down Hawks approach

BRISBANE has finally secured a much-needed win in the AFLW's priority signing period (PSP), staving off Hawthorn's expansion interest in experienced premiership midfielder Cathy Svarc.

The Hawks notched a significant statement of their intent earlier this week, landing commitments from the Lions' former League best and fairest Emily Bates and their talented forward Greta Bodey to join as PSP recruits.

Hawthorn had also attempted to lure Svarc to Victoria, where she would have joined her 2021 premiership teammates, but the 31-year-old informed interested clubs on Friday that she would remain in Queensland.

As revealed by womens.afl on Tuesday, Svarc was one of three Brisbane players – alongside both Bates and Bodey – who was weighing up a significant offer to join Bec Goddard's Hawthorn under PSP rules.

She also had interest from fellow Victorian expansion side Essendon, as well as Carlton, following another promising campaign in season seven where she averaged 11.1 disposals and 9.3 tackles per match.

 

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Three new faces in Lions AFLW leadership group for 2023

Following the announcement of Bre Koenen and Nat Grider as captain and vice-captain yesterday, the Lions are excited to announce four players into the broader leadership group for 2023.

Reigning league medallist Ally Anderson, who was part of the leadership group in 2022, will be joined by Cathy Svarc and Sophie Conway who are returning members of quartet from 2021.

Belle Dawes has been named among the leaders for the first time in her career as she enters her fourth year with the Club.

Dawes said she was over the moon to be viewed as a leader by her peers.

“I feel very honoured to be honest, knowing that girls have voted me in,” Dawes said.

“I’ve put my hand up for the last three years and I’ve been close Craig has told me.

“When he told me this year I jumped up and down in his office.

“I didn’t have any doubt that Bre and Nat would be voted in again, they were so good in those roles last season.

“Ally (Anderson), Cathy (Svarc) and Soph (Conway), I’ve spent a lot of time with them in the midfield and they are leaders on and off the field.

“Everyone in the leadership group are really great people who are always looking to grow and be better.

As someone who is new to the leadership group, Dawes said she will not shy away from remaining the energiser bunny of the team.

“For me the girls know that I bring a lot of energy to the group,” she said.

“The whole group knows how passionate I am about this team and the club which is something I want to bring to my leadership.

“For them to see me as a leader is really awesome and I’m looking forward to what we can do this year.”

Brisbane Lions AFLW coach Craig Starcevich announced the news to the players and was excited by the diversity of the leadership group.

“We are delighted that we have a cross-section of age and experience,” he said.

“It is a nice representation of the whole group through these six people.

“The leadership group that has been assembled, we feel, are great custodians of our values.”

 

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Golden Jubilee for Svarc and Dawes

Cathy Svarc and Belle Dawes careers have ascended side by side and together have formed a formidable partnership in the Brisbane Lions midfield.

Both debuted in Round 1, 2020 as they joined forces for the first time in the Lions 13-point win over the Adelaide Crows.

Fast forward three years and the pair will once again run out together, this time to celebrate their 50th appearance as Lions players.

Svarc and Dawes have played every single game of their AFLW careers together, a rare feat in sport let alone AFLW.

Reminiscing on her time as a footballer, Svarc acknowledge the footballing bond between her and Dawes.

“Belle and I have played every game together which is incredible,” Svarc said.

“I played my first game of footy ever with Belle at Wilston Grange and I’ll never forget that.

“We are very excited to be playing 50 games and together is amazing.”

Both key cogs to the Lions success in the last few years but each provide Lions AFLW Head Coach Craig Starcevich with a different set of skills.

Dawes is a ball of energy, zipping around from contest to contest, with clean hands and an ability to win contested footy.

She has taken on a bigger role in 2023 and her performance on-field has grown with the added responsibility of joining the leadership group.

Svarc is best known for her aerobic capacity, the ability to run from opening bounce to final siren.

Her speed and tackling pressure have made Svarc one of the premier defensive midfielders of the competition.

Speaking on the Club’s podcast - Between the Lions, AFLW premiership captain and former Lions teammate Emma Zielke was full of admiration for the pair.

“To play 50 games is a great achievement because some people never get to the level that Cathy and Belle have and perform at the level which they have,” she said.

“They should both be very proud and I feel privileged to be a small part of your journey, we are premiership teammates it is really nice to see you achieve this milestone.”

 

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Svarc: We strive to be the best versions of ourselves

Watch the Press Conference with Ruby and Cathy Svarc. The sisters have been a strong force for the Brisbane Lions in 2023

www.lions.com.au

 

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How prelim matchwinner exemplified new Lions era

Injecting new talent into the group was not the only part of the plan. Adding flexibility to the roles of some long-time Lions was also important.

"(The changes did) open up a lot of opportunity for people to expand into a secondary role," Lions midfielder Cathy Svarc told AFL.com.au.

"To be honest, it has been great for the team as a whole. Just that resilience and understanding the game better when you've got to play different positions, or if you're just thrown in there, you're ready to just take on whatever is thrown your way."

This is something that hasn't only come from off-season list changes, but last season's Grand Final loss.

"The Grand Final last year, we'd sort of played the same way the whole year and then it was a bit of a hard game, it wasn't quite going the way that we wanted. It just seemed like we couldn't check that in that moment," Svarc said.

"The difference is, we've been able to do that. And I think that everyone feels probably a little bit more capable in having different parts of their game that they can bring when they need to."

"It's been a trying year in terms of having to try new things and grow and learn," Svarc said.

"All that comes with mistakes and trying new things. I think people put everything into it and then to get the win in such a close game does mean so much… you could just see that pure emotion, what it does mean, to get to this point."

 

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THE SVARC sisters have etched their names into history.

Brisbane duo Cathy and Ruby Svarc became the first pair of sisters to win an AFLW premiership together when their side triumphed over North Melbourne by 17 points.
https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/10...rt-north-melbourne-kangaroos-v-brisbane-lions
"It was pretty special to be out there playing with the girls and to become the first sisters to ever win a flag together," said Ruby.

"It feels amazing, we had the opportunity last year and to finish the way we did was really disappointing, but we made amends for it this season," said Cathy.

The sisters are two of five siblings who grew up on a 400-acre property in Corowa, just outside of Albury, and it was here where their competitive instincts started to develop.

"We come from a big family, and we lived out on a big farm," Cathy said.

Ruby said: "We always have been AFL fans since we can remember, we grew up watching it all the time, it was such a big part of our lives in Northeast Victoria.

"It wasn't until AFLW started that we thought it was maybe something we could try to pursue.

"We've always played competitive sport, we both always wanted to play elite sport in some form."

Older sister Cathy was drafted to the club in 2019 before Ruby joined her in Queensland prior to the 2021 season.

"We both started footy the same year and built our way through the pathways in the couple of years after that," said Cathy.

"It was pretty cool when Rubes came up to Brisbane and I love playing together."

Cathy was an integral part of the Lions' 2021 flag and has been one of Brisbane's most consistent performers for several seasons now, but it took Ruby a little bit longer to make her presence felt on the big stage.

Ruby won the AFLW Grand Final sprint in that 2021 season and while she was happy to play a part, she says nothing compares to tasting ultimate premiership glory alongside Cathy and their other teammates this year.

"It was special to be a part of that day and to feel like I was contributing to the club, but it doesn't even come close to this. Nothing compares to this," laughed Ruby.
https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/10...al-north-melbourne-kangaroos-v-brisbane-lions
After the Lions were pillaged by expansion clubs over the off-season, Ruby was one who looked likely to thrive with added opportunity and responsibility, but a serious calf injury back in round two threatened to derail her season.

"This season didn't go to plan for me, I had a really good pre-season and was hoping that this would be my best season yet," she said.

"It was pretty unfortunate, but I kept working hard and kept working through it and managed to get back in time for the pointy end of the season."

Ruby returned to the senior side in round 10 and her pressure and speed was crucial in the Lions' forward half.

"It was pretty challenging, we did it the right way in that I played a couple of practice matches before coming back into the senior side," she said.

"That really helped me to transition back into the team."

Cathy, now a 55-game veteran, suffered a knee injury early in the Grand Final and was unable to reach her usual output, but pushed through the pain to help her side to victory.

"The injury was a bit frustrating. It was pretty annoying in that first quarter to twist my knee," she said.

"We made it work as best we could, I still went out there and tried to impact the game as much as possible.

"I was just trying to play my role as best I could.

"It's always frustrating because I'm used to knowing what I can do, but I just tried to bring the pressure."

The Lions' game style is characterised by high intensity and elite pressure, and they laid 109 tackles to set a new AFLW tackling record.

"The game was so intense, until the last five or six minutes of the game where it opened up, both teams were fighting so hard, the pressure was huge," said Cathy.

"There's such a big build up, we tried to stay pretty level-headed throughout the week and focus all of our energy on the game."

Cathy will await scans for the severity of her knee issue but says the feeling of a second premiership medallion hanging around her neck will certainly ease the pain of any time on the sidelines.

"Hopefully it's nothing too serious, we've got a bit of time off now to recover, I'm feeling pretty good right now anyway," she said.


https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1070658/sisterly-success-brisbane-lions-duo-ruby-cathy-svarc-make-history-in-aflw-grand-final-win