From Ireland to the AFLW, charting Aine Tighe’s rise to Fremantle stardom

Be it her sensational athleticism, her sublime skills or her towering 185cm frame, those in Ireland sensed that Tighe was destined for sporting stardom.

They just thought that it would be in Gaelic, not Australian rules football.

“Aine’s potential was clear to everyone from a very young age to everyone in Ireland,” Mike Currane, an Ireland-based talent identifier, said. “There aren’t many 6ft plus players running around and she was around 16 when she started playing for her county team.”

Today, Tighe is one of Ireland’s most successful exports. The Fremantle star was an unstoppable force in round one, kicking four goals against Essendon to equal her career-high in just her 30th game.

Teammate Laura Pugh reckons “she’d be the best forward in the comp.”

Fremantle coach Lisa Webb thinks that Tighe doesn’t get the respect that she deserves on the East Coast and that “she can get better which is exciting for our group.”

Tighe says that like the AFLW’s growing contingent of Irish players, she doesn’t mind going “off-script a little bit. What we bring adds a different dimension.”

And former Dockers coach Trent Cooper declared on social media that Tighe “would have been the best player in the game if it wasn’t for injury.”

Tighe’s journey started back in Leitrim where she captained her side to two county championships. She left home to attend the University of Limerick, playing Gaelic Football with the likes of Aisling McCarthy and Joanne Cregg.

She was a standout in the O’Connor Cup, winning two titles in 2014 and 2015, years where she was also an All-Star.

The origins of the AFLW’s Irish influx trace back to 2018 when Currane, an intermediary between AFL clubs and Gaelic talent, took 11 players to Australia for an Irish recruitment camp. Tighe was unable to travel after suffering the first of two ACL injuries.

The following year in 2019, AFL clubs returned the favour and travelled to Ireland. Tighe was working as a teacher and still recovering from her injury at the time. She was able to complete some basic skills drills, physical tests and match simulation.

The Dockers were an early adopter of the Irish experiment and knew of Tighe before they touched down. And before any other clubs could express interest, Fremantle had signed her.

“When Trent (Cooper) came over, they were pretty short on ruck stocks so their main requirement was for a tall and they don’t come taller than Aine,” Currane said. “It was an instant match from the get-go.

“It was a really proud moment for everyone involved.”

Currane had six months to transform Tighe into an AFLW player before she was required to depart for Perth. And her dedication to her new sport was evident from the outset.

“I worked really closely with Trent and Fremantle to get some skill sessions done with Aine across that six-month period,” Currane said. “Her commitment and eagerness to learn was really evident to see.

“Sometimes she’d do a five or six-hour round trip to do a 90-minute kicking session.”

Currane was also the head coach of Ireland’s women’s Australian Rules team at the time. A few weeks before Tighe’s departure, she was picked to represent her country at the AFL’s European Championships in London.

“We’d done individual sessions but it was an extra honour to coach her and present her with an Irish playing jersey,” Currane said. “She was absolutely phenomenal.

“She won player of the tournament that week in her first competitive football tournament. It was great to see her with a Sherrin in hand and the potential she had.”

Those at Fremantle sensed that Tighe was about to take the AFLW by storm. But upon arrival in Australia, she tore her ACL for a second time in a pre-season game against Adelaide. The next year in 2021, Tighe was struck down again, this time by a significant medial meniscus tear.

“It was terrible and shocking,” Currane said. “But one thing that Aine has shown is that she’s a fighter and she has huge resilience and courage.”

After two years on the sidelines, Tighe finally made her AFLW debut in round one, 2022. She kicked her first goal against Richmond in round three. Then she was forced into defence after Janelle Cuthbertson suffered a fractured jaw at training.

In just her second season, Tighe topped Fremantle’s goal kicking with 11 majors to finish third in the Dockers’ best and fairest.

“It was a benefit that there were two seasons in the one year because she was able to get a lot more games and gain that experience,” Currane said. “She’s gone onwards and upwards from there.”

Now, Tighe is one of the toughest match-ups in the AFLW.

In a thunderous breeze at Windy Hill, the 32-year-old plucked seven marks, three of them contested.

“Her height gives her a huge advantage,” Currane said. “In Gaelic football, we don’t call it marking, we call it fielding.

“It’s a core feature of the game it just doesn’t get rewarded with a kick. It’s transferred very well to AFLW.”

Now teams are double, sometimes even triple-teaming Tighe in an attempt to curb her enormous influence, not that she’s noticed.

“I just focus on my role and what I need to do,” she said. “I don’t get too caught up in it.

“A lot of people think it’s an easy transition coming across from Gaelic but it’s certainly challenging.

“It’s probably just that point of difference (we bring). Sinead Goldrick mentioned it the other day, we kind of go out there and just do random things.

“There’s been ups and downs along the way but it’s been incredibly rewarding. For me growing up, the opportunity to play professional sport was something I never thought was possible.”

Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Tighe’s best is still yet to come. It’s a scary proposition for the AFLW, particularly those who don’t play for Fremantle.

Who knows? If Tighe keeps it up, she might even become the first Irish W Medallist, just like Cooper predicted.

“How exciting would that be?” Currane said. “She did miss out on a couple of seasons but boy is she catching up quickly.

More Coverage

Freo spearhead’s surprise role in AFLW star’s career-changing move

Eliza Reilly

“A number of these Irish girls are not only competing but they’re playing at the top level of the competition. Aine is certainly up there in terms of her ability.

“That would be a dream scenario for an Irish player to win the best and fairest. They’re getting closer. I’m not sure when it might happen but Aine is someone with the ability to do that.

“The rest is history and there’s a lot more history to come. The sky is the limit.”