Richmond's newest recruit, Aoibhin Cleary, may not have grown up around Australian Rules.

However, the Gaelic footballer-turned-AFLW player isn't taking a backwards step, as she arrived at the Swinburne Centre ahead of the 2025 season.

The 25-year-old is signed to Richmond on a two-year deal, and is excited to be in Australia after her Gaelic season ended in Grand Final defeat last weekend.

"I'm so excited to finally be here. It's been a good few months coming. Nice to finally to touch down in Australia and be ready to go," Cleary told Richmond Media on Monday.

By nature, Cleary is a star Gaelic footballer, but she isn't concerned about changing codes.

Instead, she's embracing the chance to bring her unique skills to the AFLW.

"I think there's a lot of similarities between the two games. A lot of differences as well, so definitely lots to learn," Cleary said.

"The transition from defence to attack that I have in my game at home, I think should translate well over here."

Cleary is the current county captain of Meath in Ireland’s Gaelic National Football League (NFL).

She was part of Meath’s inaugural All Ireland winning team in 2021 and she became a dual-winner the following season when they made it back-to-back titles.

Fellow Irish AFLW players Vikki Wall (North Melbourne) and Orlagh Lally (Fremantle) were also part of the triumphant teams, with Cleary among the best players in both games.

Cleary has also played with AFLW stars Sarah Rowe (Collingwood), Aishling Moloney (Geelong) and Niamh Kelly (Adelaide) at University level when representing Dublin City University at the O’Connor Cup.

And her goal is to play an important role and help her Tiger teammates as best she can.

"Just seeing all the girls in action, right in front of me, live. I'm really excited for that," Cleary said,

"To just really make an impact. By the time I got here, it's quite late (in pre-season). To try and get a grip on everything as quick as possible and to have an impact."