Along with Alicia Eva, Cora Staunton was inducted as a Life Member by the Giants on Nov. 11, when they became the first two AFLW players to ever receive the honour.
The two were inducted at the 2022 Gabrielle Trainor Medal; both played their 50th game for the Giants this season.
After playing Gaelic football for 25 years, Staunton became the first international player to sign on for an AFLW team when she joined the Giants for the 2018 season. She has been their leading goal scorer since.
Staunton shared her gratitude at the GTM event:
"I was hugely shocked when I received the call from Chief Executive Officer Dave Matthews. Life Membership to an AFL club is probably something I don't quite understand yet, but when you look at the list of the names in the Giants' life members list, it's a massive honour."
Those names include inaugural club coach Kevin Sheedy and Heath Shaw, who played a total of 325 games in his AFL career.
Staunton also thanked her family and coach Alan McConnell:
"My family, I'd like to thank them. They're up week in, week out in the middle of the night supporting me. They're huge Giants supporters, as are all my friends, so to my Dad, my brothers and sisters, niece and nephews, I thank them all for their support.
"To Alan McConnell, thank you for everything you've done for me. At my age I've gone through a huge amount of coaches and played a number of different sports, but without doubt you're the best coach I have ever worked with. You care for everyone, particularly those that come from the other side of the world. You've helped me be the best version of myself both on and off the field and I owe everything I've achieved in this sport on and off the field to you."
