RICHMOND captain Katie Brennan is confident in her squad ahead of the 2024 AFLW season, and has her eyes set on one returning star who will make a big difference.

After suffering an ankle injury in the opening round last year, Richmond’s young star Ellie McKenzie was stuck on the sidelines.

“A big one for us is having Ellie McKenzie back,” Brennan said.

“We’ve seen glimpses of what she can do, or you guys have seen some, we’ve seen even more at training.

“She’s a superstar, it’s not like she will get 30 disposals a game but she might get 20 or 25 and kick a couple of goals and she’s so damaging with those disposals.

“To have her footy smarts and her leadership around our group, it’s just huge, so a fully fit Ellie McKenzie is what you’ll see.”

Brennan also spoke about some new Tigers that have impressed on the training track and through the pre-season fixtures.

“We’ve also got some young girls like Charley Ryan, who hasn’t had a clear run at it. She’s had some injuries over the last couple of years. This is her third pre-season and it’s going to be an absolute pleasure to get her back out there,” she said.

“[It will be good] to see her best footy, she’s come a long way [and] she’s really growing her game.

“Ally Dallaway has been really impressive, Jodie Hicks has been super impressive off half-back and will give us some great ball use and some young leg speed as well too.

“It’s hard to pin-point them all, they’ve all slotted in perfectly and we are really looking forward to what they will bring.”

Brennan spoke about the whole squad and their mix of youth and experience now with the inclusions from both trades and the draft.

“We’ve got a number of girls that have come in, a few from different clubs and then a couple in the draft and it’s just been such a pleasure,” Brennan explained.

“They’ve just hit the ground running and [have] become Richmond people from the very beginning.

“We’ve got a mix of experience and youth and I think a lot of those girls have just brought some vibrancy to our group and slot into our gameplan really well.

“We’re really looking forward to what they’ll bring to the season.”

Finishing in tenth, just outside the finalists, Richmond look to build more consistency with a more settled line-up in 2024. Brennan spoke about the consistency that comes without injuries reaping havoc.

“Our biggest thing was consistency, I think we’ve played some really good football in patches and know that we can match it with some of the best teams in the [competition], who we respect highly,” she said.

“We want to be up amongst those teams and I think consistency is just going to be the thing that gets us there, we obviously had a fair few injuries last year, so getting some of those girls back and having a healthy list will be the key to any team’s success in such a short season.

“We are pretty healthy at the moment, we are just looking forward to building our game week-in and week-out and trying to be as consistent as possible.”

Signing a two-year extension on the eve of the season, Brennan continues her career at the Tigers after crossing over in 2019.

“[It was] really pleasing [to get that extension], I love the footy club, I love the people,” she said.

“Our program is just going from strength to strength, so it’s a really good place to be.

“We are just building something really special and it’s a pleasure to be around, so I’m super grateful to the footy club for signing me on for a couple more.

“I just can’t wait to see what we can build moving forward.”