Richmond co-captain Ellie McKenzie will notch up her 50th AFLW game this Sunday against the Saints, also recording her first match for the 2026 season.

McKenzie makes her return to football following an arm injury sustained in the Australia vs Ireland match during the pre-season.

The 23-year-old has spent her entire AFLW career at the Swinburne Centre, after Richmond selected her with the first overall pick in the 2020 AFLW Draft.

Her impressive resume includes a Rising Star nomination in the Club's first-ever win, coming against Geelong in 2021, the 2021 AFLW Best First Year Player award and a second placed finish in Richmond's Best and Fairest in her debut year.

At 176cm, McKenzie is a powerful athlete that has shown her prowess as a forward and midfielder. She has explosive speed, is an excellent stoppage player, and has a long, penetrating left-foot kick.

Injury kept McKenzie to just one game in 2023 - a match she received coaches votes in against Brisbane. But McKenzie has put that behind her in recent years with back-to-back podium finishes in the Tigers’ Best and Fairest.

The prodigious talent averaged a career-high 22.4 disposals and four clearances last season, which helped earn her selection in the Australia vs Ireland representative match alongside teammate Monique Conti.

McKenzie was also voted as co-captain in 2026, and will play her 50th match, and first as captain alongside Gabby Seymour, this Sunday against St Kilda at Windy Hill.