Craig Starcevich celebrates with his Brisbane players after their win over Carlton in the 2025 preliminary final. Picture: AFL Photos
WHEN Brisbane defeated Carlton last Saturday night to qualify for its seventh AFLW Grand Final, one of the first moments of joy for coach Craig Starcevich came courtesy of a full-blooded chest-bump from effervescent midfielder, Belle Dawes.
Bang. A full run-up, the bump and a big smile from both.
Seconds later, Dakota Davidson came in for a hug. Then Taylor Smith, then Lily Postlethwaite.
Courtney Hodder, Nat Grider, Eleanor Hartill and Shannon Campbell were next in for a group embrace with the coach.
Starcevich has been at Brisbane since day one, alongside head of football Bree Brock and head of high-performance, Matt Green.
Together, they’ve helped create a culture that has resulted in an incredible run of high-level consistency – two premierships from six Grand Finals in nine seasons, and now a seventh decider on Saturday night.
With Starcevich at the top, it should come as no surprise.
“When you see the joy on his face, you think, ‘that’s who we’re doing it for – for Craig’,” midfield ace Ally Anderson tells AFL.com.au.
“We just want to make him happy. He loves it so much and it’s so contagious, we just want to win for him.”
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After a decorated playing career, having been the strength and conditioning coach for Leigh Matthews’ hat-trick of premierships in the early 2000s, having held roles in growing the game in both Western Australia and Queensland, Starcevich has seen just about everything in the game.
Captain Bre Koenen says there’s no one grand gesture that makes him so popular, but a connection he creates with each and every person he comes across.
“It’s the same as any person you look up to or love; it’s not just one thing, it’s a combination of all the little things he does,” Koenen says.
Craig Starcevich celebrates with Bre Koenen after Brisbane’s win in the 2023 NAB AFLW Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos
Starcevich has not only been a coach, but often a recruiter, spotting many of his current list in the QAFLW, riding the bumps on and off the field with them.
Anderson has known him for a decade and even stopped by his second home in Switzerland, where Starcevich’s wife Sonia lives for most of the year, when she travelled to Europe in 2022.
“I called him from Paris and said, ‘I’m coming to Basel’, and he and his wife picked me up from the airport, took me to their house, fed me and washed my clothes,” Anderson beams with a huge smile.
“I know a few girls over the years that have gone through Switzerland have stayed with him and Sonia.
“That’s the kind of people they are, they’re so open and inviting. I don’t know how many coaches you could stay with overseas.
“He is really like a dad to a lot of us.”
Craig Starcevich celebrates with Taylor Smith after Brisbane’s win over Carlton in the 2025 preliminary final. Picture: AFL Photos
Game-changing winger Sophie Conway calls him a “special, special man”, saying his caring nature and the balance he strikes between having fun and being serious keeps things fresh year after year.
“I need that element of fun, and when I’m enjoying myself, I’m playing good footy,” she says.
“The banter you can have with him, the jokes you can have with him, you can take the p*ss out of him and he can take the p*ss out of you. To have that relationship with the big dog is so important.
“He just sends those little texts. For him, it might just be what he does, but for you as a person and athlete and player, when you get those little messages, it means so much.”
Koenen says she overheard a conversation last week that perfectly encapsulated Starcevich’s nature.
“One of our massage therapists was talking to Nat (Grider) about her son, who played one year at the club in the early 2000s when Craig was S&C (strength and conditioning coach). He remembered him, his name, his journey, his family. (It was) this random-as connection, but Craig – (from) 20 years ago – remembers this kid and his upbringing, his nationality, everything about him.
Craig Starcevich in his meeting room at Brighton Homes Arena. Picture: AFL Photos
“He puts so much time into his people. He knows, and genuinely loves and cares, about everybody he coaches.
“His relationship with his players is second to none.
“To have him back you and believe in you as much as he does, you can’t help but obviously want to play for him and do everything you can to prove him right.”
First-time All-Australian Jen Dunne was recruited by Starcevich from Ireland in 2023, bringing another level to their relationship.
In 2024, she returned home to play Gaelic football for her beloved Dublin during the off-season – something the coach always supports – but opted to return to Brisbane early this year and complete a full pre-season with the Lions, missing the Gaelic season. Dublin won the All-Ireland Final in her absence, a bittersweet moment for the Irishwoman.
Jennifer Dunne and Craig Starcevich celebrate during Brisbane’s preliminary final against Geelong on November 25, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos
“Even with the girls winning this year, he was so considered in his approach about it. He’d always show an interest in results of games and making you feel like he values where you came from and what got you here,” she says.
“He’s put so much time into my family as well. His wife is constantly talking to my mum. Little details that make a big difference.
“His wife lives on the other side of the world, too. We share that dynamic that our loved ones are far away.”
If Brisbane do the unlikely and defeat North Melbourne on Saturday night, watch for the reaction of its players towards Starcevich.
You might get just a little window into why the club has been so successful under his watch.
