Eight years on, Rowe – who has also played A-league soccer – says Melbourne doesn’t feel as intimidating as it once did.
“In Ireland, we don’t celebrate milestones at all, so it never feels like these are significant events at home,” she said.
“But obviously, seeing girls reach their 100th game this year, being an Irish player and reaching a big milestone is special and makes me realise how much time and how much of my life I’ve dedicated to being over in Australia.”
Over the past few years, Irish talent has flourished across the AFLW, as more Gaelic players consider a professional career in Australia. In the league’s inaugural season, there was only one Irish player. In 2025, there’s 39.
O’Dwyer was the first Irishwoman to sign with the Lions and debuted for the club in 2020. The midfielder was born in Sydney and spent the first year of her life in Australia before travelling back to her parents’ homeland in Ireland.
However, Australia was always on her mind. The midfielder recalls drawing the Sydney Harbour Bridge for school assignments, attempting to bake Anzac biscuits, and religiously watching Home and Away.
“I used to love all the animals and loved Steve Irwin,” she laughs. “It was a full circle because then I ended up living there.”
The former Gaelic footballer has loved watching the evolution of the Irish players’ influence on AFLW in Australia, and also back home.
“Back home in Ireland, they show a few games every weekend, and you can Google any of the players now, and you’ll get to see highlights,” she said. “So the game is getting more exposure.”
However, Rowe was also candid about the impact on the Irish domestic competition, as more players move to Australia for better pay and a professional career.
“Younger girls are aspiring to be AFLW players versus Gaelic players,” she said. “It’s difficult for the game at home, obviously, but it’s credit to the AFLW and what they’re doing to create an environment that people want to come over [for].”
The physical distance between herself and her family is also something that lingers on Rowe’s mind. The now 30-year-old has loved every part of her AFLW career, but spoke of the difficulty of missing important family milestones back home.
“There’s probably a part of me that feels guilty being so far away from home,” she said. “I’ve given so much to sport, and sometimes you wonder at the cost of what ... you miss weddings, kids growing up, really big events in your family’s life, and it’s time I can’t get back. But at the same time, sport is time you can’t get back, either.
“So it’s a hard one, though it’s definitely a double-edged sword, and I’ve probably come to terms with how to deal with that.”
Both Rowe and O’Dwyer have flourished in the AFLW and have adjusted to life in Australia, but the occasional Aussie slang saying or piece of footy jargon does trip them up.
“In my team meetings, I used to think I needed a dictionary,” Rowe joked. “They kept telling me to put the ball through the corridor ... what does that even mean?”