Essendon Football Club is proud to announce Bonnie Toogood and Steph Cain have been named as inaugural co-captains of the AFL Women’s program.
It was revealed at the Bombers’ AFLW meeting on Tuesday evening that the pair will be supported by Jacqui Vogt and Georgia Nanscawen in a four-player leadership group.
An AFLW premiership player, Toogood played 37 games across her five seasons at the Western Bulldogs.
Captaining alongside Toogood is Cain, who moved to the NEC Hangar from Fremantle after 44 games.
Leadership group member Vogt will use her past experience as a professional soccer player for Melbourne Victory in the W-League as well as her 17 games at AFLW level for St Kilda.
Already a Premiership captain with Essendon’s VFLW side, Nanscawen will be influential from the sidelines after tearing her ACL in the VFLW Grand Final.
The 2021 Lambert-Pearce medallist has captained the club’s VFLW side for the past two years and has been a key pillar of the Bombers’ midfield.
Senior coach Natalie Wood said the experienced pair would complement one another with the strengths they bring to the leadership position.
“Both Steph and Bonnie are highly respected members of this group, so to have them supporting one another in the dual role will be beneficial for the entire program,” Wood said.
"Both players are ready to embrace this opportunity ahead. We are confident they will continue to set high standards across the playing group and lead by example.”
Toogood said she was extremely proud to be the inaugural co-captain alongside Cain in a historic year for the club.
“As a lifelong Bombers supporter, I am extremely proud to be named the inaugural co-captain of Essendon’s AFLW team,” Toogood said.
“We are building such a special culture here and I look forward to working with Natalie, Steph, the playing group and coaching staff to develop the foundations of a successful program.”
Cain, who moved from her home state of Western Australia to join Essendon, said she was honoured to lead the Bombers in their inaugural year.
“I feel extremely privileged to be named the first captain of Essendon’s AFLW side, alongside Bonnie,” Cain said.
“Since moving to Victoria, the Bombers have been extremely supportive of me and I can’t wait to lead this special group throughout first year in the competition.”
The Bombers will face Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, August 27 for their historic round one blockbuster clash.
Tickets for the match are on sale here.
