“You can still win a game and not play perfect footy.”

Heralded as one of the strongest talents in the AFLW, Garner is consistently a player to watch in the midfield, notable for her ability to move the ball seamlessly out of congestion.

The 30-year-old shone in the week nine clash against Adelaide with 27 disposals, five clearances and notching two goals – the seventh consecutive game where she scored a major.

Former AFLW coach and commentator Daniel Harford described Garner as part of the “nucleus of the team”, while North coach Darren Crocker hailed her as a “generational talent”.

From her 2019 debut with North to now, Garner said her mindset and play had improved with experience, crediting the “solid group of girls around her”.

“One piece of advice from ‘Crock’ is you’re competitive and want to go out and win, but the main thing is to enjoy and do what you love,” she said. “I think that’s what I’ve found and developed in my game.”

Garner also praised her family for their support during finals period – her younger brother Kane is ever-present at the club, attending training sessions and running the team’s water bottles.

“I think my brother is probably my biggest supporter – actually he’s probably the team’s biggest supporter,” she said. “I love that he’s able to be involved with my journey and ride the highs and lows.”

Garner is on track to earn a seventh consecutive All-Australian jumper this season and was crowned club champion last year. But the league’s best-and-fairest accolade has remained elusive.

“It’s not something I look in to, whatever happens, happens,” she said. “For myself and the team, our goal is the premiership.”

‘Unforgettable atmosphere’: AFLW grand final to be held at night

This year’s AFLW grand final will be held under lights in a primetime 7.45pm spot for the first time in the league’s history.

The AFL announced the timeslot for the November 30 grand final on Wednesday morning, with AFLW general manager Emma Moore and executive general manager Laura Kane describing it as an “exciting time” for the women’s game.

Garner said she was excited about the prospect of playing an evening grand final but cautioned the team “wasn’t there yet”.

“Growing up, I always watched the mens footy on Friday, Saturday night,” she said. ” It was one of my favourite things to do.

“I think it’s pretty cool that the AFLW has the opportunity to play in that prime-time spot, it doesn’t get any better than Friday, saturday night footy.”

In 2025, the AFLW will expand to 12 games over 12 weeks, ditching the controversial condensed fixture from 2024.

Asked her thoughts about what the competition should look like next year, Garner hoped games would keep increasing per season.

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“We’ve got to be able to fit it all in, and if that means bring the season forward earlier and there might be a bit of cross-over with the mens, I think that’s probably the way to go,” she said.

“As long as we are increasing games, we can head towards everyone playing each other once, we’d be heading in the right direction.”

This year’s AFLW grand final will be held under lights in a primetime 7.45pm spot for the first time in the league’s history.

The AFL announced the timeslot for the November 30 grand final on Wednesday morning, with AFLW general manager Emma Moore and executive general manager Laura Kane describing it as an “exciting time” for the women’s game.

“This will enable more people to watch the biggest game on the AFLW calendar, exposing more people to our great game and an unforgettable atmosphere to close the season,” Moore said.

Kane said she had watched every game of the season and described it as an incredible year.

“We were up in every metric, crowd, broadcast numbers and games, and I think the growth that we all want to see and work so hard to see in W has been on display this year with some of the best football and some of the best emerging talent.”

Kane said growth was “our No.1 priority” and said players were excited to play at night.

Pre-match entertainment will be announced in coming weeks, with the venue to be confirmed after the preliminary finals. According to AFLW rules, the highest-ranked qualifier hosts the grand final.

Last week, two of the league’s stars said it didn’t matter to them if the grand final was held during the day or at night – as long as their teams made it.

“Hopefully, we get there, they’ll tell me where, and I’ll turn up,” Hawthorn forward Aine McDonagh said after the Hawks’ win over Richmond last Sunday.

Last year’s decider between the Kangaroos and the Lions was held at Ikon Park on a Sunday at 2.30pm – the latest start in the league’s history.

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The AFL has previously explored the potential of a twilight or night grand final for the men’s competition, hosting the grand final under lights during the COVID-19 interrupted campaigns of 2020 and 2021.

Moore and Kane confirmed they had received and listened to feedback on this year’s controversial condensed fixture, and said changes would be implemented in 2025.

The AFLW fixture was condensed to fit its new 11-game home-and-away season into the same 10-week stretch, sparking concerns for heightened risks of injury. The fixture is expected to grow to 12 weeks next year.

“We had a lot of feedback from a lot of people, we listened to it, and there are things that will change next year as a result of that feedback,” Kane said.

“But we had some positivity … There were some players who said they preferred playing instead of training, but overall, we heard the feedback as a collective.”

The first qualifying final will be North Melbourne v Adelaide at IKON Park on Friday night, with Fremantle hosting Essendon on Saturday night in an elimination final, and the Hawthorn-Brisbane Lions qualifying final and Port Adelaide-Richmond elimination final on Sunday.

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