The GIANTS have added more Irish flavour to its AFLW program after signing athletic Irish rookie Grace Kos for the 2025 AFLW season.
Drafted out of Dublin, Kos will make the switch to Australian rules football after a successful Gaelic football career which has seen her win the last three Club Leinster Championships with the Kilmacud Crokes.
A 179cm utility who also played junior hockey and was an All-Ireland cross-country runner, Kos’ signature comes just days after helping lead Kilmacud through to the All-Ireland final to be played at Croke Park on December 14.
Kos joins the GIANTS with sporting pedigree in her blood, with her uncle Michael Shields a Gaelic football star who was on Carlton’s list in 2018, while her cousin Hubert Kos won Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200m backstroke.
The GIANTS will be hoping the 23-year-old rookie can follow in the footsteps of countrywoman Eilish O’Dowd who joined the GIANTS in very similar circumstances last season where she went on to tie for fourth in the Gabrielle Trainor Medal following a brilliant debut AFLW season.
Kos was also inspired to try her hand at AFLW and join the GIANTS following the efforts of Jen Dunne (Brisbane) and Sinead Goldrick (Melbourne) with whom she played Gaelic football with in Dublin this year.
GIANTS’ AFLW List Manager Tyson Bourke said Kos would be a fantastic addition to the club.
“Grace is a player we targeted and followed across the year at Dublin given her strong athletic profile,” he said.
“After meeting her it was clear to us that she has the drive and character to add value to our program both off and on the field and we look forward to Grace joining the GIANTS and crossing over to AFLW.
“Grace has some strong athletic traits and a good skill in Gaelic that we feel can translate well to AFLW and we’re excited about welcoming her to the GIANTS for the 2025 AFLW season.”
The GIANTS have been one of the pacesetters when it comes to Irish representation in the AFLW, with the club the first to actively recruit from the country when it brought Cora Staunton across for the competition's second season.
Kos joins not only O’Dowd, but Callum Brown as the club’s Irish representation for season 2025.
