Aussie Rules Star Aileen Gilroy will not be lining out for the Mayo Ladies this year.

That news was confirmed to Midwest Sport this afternoon by Mayo manager Michael Moyles who said they have been in talks with Aileen while she was in Australia and since she has returned home.

He said Aileen won't be able to give the full commitment to the inter-county setup this year as she is living in Wexford.

Elsewhere both Grace and Niamh Kelly will be available for selection for the Galway game on Saturday week but Sarah Rowe is nursing her way back from a shoulder injury.

Michael Moyles also confirmed that Galway WFC Star Rachel Kearns is fully committed to the Mayo cause for 2021.

Mayo’s Sarah Rowe has been named AFLW Irish Player of the year.

16 Irish women lined out competitively Down Under this season and the AFL Ireland Women’s team tracked their statistics in relation to goals, disposals, kicks, handballs, marks and tackles across each of the six rounds. 

The Kilmoremoy footballer, who was representing the Collingwood Magpies, came out on top ahead of Aisling McCarthy of Tipperary (Western Bulldogs) and Carnacon’s Cora Staunton (GWS Giants).

Kilfian’s Aileen Gilroy who plays for North Melbourne came fourth.

It is a tremendous achievement to see three Mayo players in the top five.

TG4 have announced that the station will broadcast weekly matches and highlights from the upcoming Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) season.

The NAB AFL Women’s Competition begins on the last weekend of January with fourteen teams battling it out over twelve weekends to see who will reach the Grand Final in April.

The agreement between TG4 and the Australian Football League (AFL) will see matches being broadcast deferred each weekend as well as weekly highlights.

The coverage will begin on TG4 on Saturday 30th January at 5.10pm.

There will be fourteen Irish players playing in this season's NAB AFL Women’s Competition which is Australia's national semi-professional Australian Rules Football league for female players. 

There are five players from Mayo in the league.

The Kelly sisters Niamh & Grace both play for the West Coast Eagles, Aileen Gilroy is with North Melbourne, Cora Staunton of the Great Western Sydney Giants and Sarah Rowe of Collingwood.

Meanwhile, Aine Tighe from Leitrim plays for the Freemantle Dockers.

AFL Head of Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone said she was pleased with the announcement and looked forward to the NAB AFL Women’s Competition being broadcast in Ireland.  “We are proud to expand the AFLW broadcast to Ireland, a significant announcement for Australian Football given the impact Irish footballers have had on the NAB AFL Women’s Competition,” Ms. Livingstone said.

“We have 14 Irish players currently on AFLW lists and it is great to know that their family and friends back home will be able to watch them in action this season.”

TG4's Head of Sport Rónán Ó Coisdealbha said: "We are extremely pleased that TG4 have agreed a deal with the Australian Football League (AFL) to broadcast matches from the NAB AFL Women’s Competition. There are a lot of players from Ireland who play in the AFLW and we would like to thank the AFL for giving us the opportunity to showcase their sport in Ireland."

After three rounds of the AFL Women's league there are two Mayo players at the top of the Irish Player of the Year Leader board.

Aileen Gilroy is in second position while Cora Staunton is currently placed fifth with Tipperary's Aisling McCarthy leading the pack.