GWS Giants have continued the AFL Women's raid on other codes by signing a pair of Australian internationals, basketballer Jess Bibby and soccer star Ellie Brush.
Former Opals guard Bibby won five WNBL titles with Canberra and Dandenong before retiring at the end of last season, while Canberra United stalwart and former Matildas defender Brush will play in the coming W-League season before joining the Giants.
"Both players have the skills to perform from a football perspective but they also bring a wealth of experience and leadership to the Giants," ,coach Tim Schmidt said.
Bibby and Brush join Olympians Erin Phillips (basketball) and Kim Mickle (athletics), as players moving to Australian rules from other sports.
Brush 28, is a long-standing captain of Canberra United for whom she has made 94 W-League appearances over eight seasons and most recently turned out for American club Houston Dash .
The Giants identified Brush as a potential recruit at the AFL's national talent search at the start of the year.
"Her results were amongst the very top on the day, but we were particularly impressed with her skills in the game,:" Schmidt said.
"She is a very smooth mover around the ground with the skills to match."
With the W-League finals set down for February , the same month as the AFL Women's competition starts, there is a chance the two could overlap.
Bibby 37, the all-time WNBL games record holder, played for WNBA side New York Liberty in 2000,.
"She was then one of the best on ground in the practice match at the state combine a week ago which really solidified our decision to rookie-list her,." Schmidt said.,
