Katie Brennan

AFL Women's career Western Bulldogs (2017–2019) In July 2016, Brennan signed with the Western Bulldogs as one of their two marquee players ahead of the AFL Women's inaugural season. In January 2017, she was announced as the inaugural captain of the Bulldogs.

Brennan sustained an acute ankle injury in a pre-season practice match just one week before the start of the season, though eventually debuted in the club's inaugural match with the help of pain-killing injections. After that match and one further, her pre-season ankle injury was re-aggravated and Brennan was forced to miss the following three matches. She attempted to make a return to football for a round 6 match against in her home state, but a late fitness test caused Brennan to severely tear her right quad muscle and ultimately miss the final two matches of the season. She finished the season having kicked three goals in her two matches.

In her round 1 return to AFL Women's in 2018, Brennan kicked a match-best three goals in a 26-point victory over . She captained the Bulldogs to a win in that match, securing a home-state grand final the week following. Brennan was involved in a dangerous sling tackle in that match, however, pinning the arms of 's Harriet Cordner in a tackle that saw Cordner's head hit the ground in the follow-through. Having already received a reprimand from the league's match review officer, she was offered a one-week suspension for her action. After unsuccessfully attempting to appeal her suspension, her suspension was increased to two weeks, with the suspension ultimately causing her to miss out on competing in the Bulldogs' Grand Final victory.

On 23 March 2018, Brennan made a gender discrimination complaint against the AFL to the Australian Human Rights Commission over the two-match suspension which ultimately prevented her from playing in the Grand Final. Her claim asserted that her suspension contravened Australia's Sex Discrimination Act 1984, as male AFL players would have only received fines rather than suspensions had they been found guilty of the same offence which she had been suspended for; as a result, women were being punished more harshly than men for the same offence. On 18 April 2018, Brennan dropped her complaint against the AFL, after the AFL agreed to change its match review rules to remove anomalous differences between the men's and women's competitions, thereby ensuring greater consistency between the men's and women's competitions, with the AFL additionally reducing Brennan's suspension by one week.

On 8 April 2019, the Bulldogs announced that Brennan had departed the club, with Brennan later saying that her decision had been "based purely around [her] need for a fresh start".

Richmond (2020–present) Brennan signed with Richmond on the second day of the 2019 trade and sign period, becoming the first player to sign with its AFL Women's team and the first AFLW player to sign a two-year contract with a club. In January 2020 she was appointed the club's inaugural AFLW captain. Brennan achieved selection in Champion Data's 2021 AFLW All-Star stats team, after leading the league for average score involvements in the 2021 AFL Women's season, totalling 4.8 a game. In the 2021 AFL Women's season, Brennan was awarded with her maiden All-Australian blazer, named on the half forward position.

Personal life Brennan grew up playing football with her brother and they were both Brisbane Lions supporters. She attended high school at Our Lady's College in the suburb of Annerley. Brennan also spent periods of her youth living in England and Dubai.

Between the ages of 15 and 17, Brennan suffered from bulimia.

Outside of football, Brennan owns and operates a strength and conditioning business called KB Performance.

Statistics Statistics are correct to the end of round 2, 2023.

44 53 40 374 111 485 128 117 1.2 0.9 8.5 2.5 11.0 2.9 2.7

Honours and achievements Team AFL Women's minor premiership : 2018

Individual Richmond captain: 2020– Western Bulldogs captain: 2017–2019 Western Bulldogs leading goalkicker: 2019 Allies representative honours in AFL Women's State of Origin: 2017 Susan Alberti Award: 2015