Ruby Svarc breaks away from Carlton’s Amelia Velardo during her best-on-ground performance in the AFLW Preliminary Final match at Brighton Homes Arena in Brisbane on Saturday. Image AAP.
Corowa’s renowned sporting sisters, Cathy and Ruby Svarc, are heading into their third AFLW Grand Final together against premiership favourites North Melbourne this Saturday evening.
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The pair played key roles in the Brisbane Lions’ epic preliminary final win over Carlton at Brighton Homes Arena, with Ruby producing a standout performance.
Remarkably, this year’s Grand Final will be Cathy’s seventh appearance on the big stage.
The two-time premiership player (2021, 2023) finished last weekend’s match with a game-high 11 tackles and has now accumulated 83 AFLW games.
But it was Ruby who stole the show in the preliminary final, delivering a best-on-ground display when it mattered most.
Using her blistering speed, she kicked four crucial goals, a career high. In her previous 56 AFLW games, she had never kicked more than two in a match.
Known as a tireless small forward who often goes unrewarded on the scoreboard, Ruby sparked Brisbane to life.
With the Lions dominating territory but struggling to convert, the Svarc sisters ignited the crowd with two goals in a five-minute burst during the second quarter.
Ruby then kicked a checkside early in the third, set up a goal for Courtney Hodder, and sealed the contest with her fourth in the final term.
Coach Craig Starcevich praised Ruby’s breakout performance after the match, calling it “amazing and surprising—but not that surprising.”
“She’s one of the hardest workers in our group in perfecting her craft,” he said.
“She’s always been lightning-fast and has elevated her game over the last four or five years.”
Cathy, 33, enjoyed another consistent season, playing every game in her seventh year at the club.
Svarc spark: Corowa’s talented sporting sisters Cathy (left) and Ruby Svarc (right) with Sophie Conway after their 2023 Grand Final win with the Lions. Photo: AFL Photos.
Ruby, 32, missed only one match in what has been her most consistent campaign since being drafted in the 2020 NAB AFLW Draft.
The speedy outside midfielder has worked hard to cement her place in the side since debuting in 2022.
The sisters grew up on their family farm outside Corowa with their three siblings, playing a wide range of local sports.
Both are also well known for their stellar A-Grade netball careers with Corowa-Rutherglen. They last played together in 2014 before Cathy moved to Geelong for physiotherapy and Ruby to Melbourne to study nutrition and dietetics.
Cathy relocated to Brisbane in 2018 for work and played for Wilston Grange, soon catching the eye of AFLW selectors before being drafted by the Lions in 2019. Ruby joined her a year later.
Cathy Svarc has enjoyed another consistent season, playing every game in her seventh year at the club. Photo: AFL Photos.
Cathy was named in the All-Australian squad in 2021 and has since become one of Brisbane’s most reliable and competitive midfielders.
The Svarc sisters will now aim to secure their second premiership together after last year’s triumph.
For the third consecutive season, Brisbane and North Melbourne will meet in the Grand Final, this time to be held at 7.45pm at Ikon Park this Saturday.
The match will be broadcast on the Seven Network, Fox Footy and Kayo, and live-streamed on womens.afl and the AFLW Official app.
