THE GWS Giants’ AFLW team have scored a massive coup by snarring Gaelic football legend Cora Staunton for next season.

In a whirlwind 48 hours, Staunton jumped off a flight from Ireland to audition in front of head coach Alan McConnell and men’s assistant coach Nick Walsh.

As expected, she passed with flying colours and when drafted with pick 46 today became the first international player in the AFLW.

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The “legendary” title is no exaggeration.

Staunton is listed among the greatest Irish athletes of the past 100 years. She has played at the highest level of Gaelic Football for the past 22 years, winning four All Ireland titles with county Mayo and being nominated 10 times All Ireland in the GAA women’s competition.

She made her debut in the Mayo senior ladies team in 1995 at the age of 13 and continues to play at that level two decades later at the age of 34.

media_camera Cora Staunton playing Gaelic football. Picture: Getty Images

Plenty of Irishmen have successfully made the transition to AFL. The Swans’ Tadhg Kennelly and the late Jim Stynes at Melbourne are the most notable.

Staunton is looking to follow in their footsteps in the AFLW.

“It will be a huge challenge but us Irish love a challenge,” Staunton said.

“I’ve never played AFL before and had my first practice at it with Alan and Nick this morning.

“Getting used to the ball will be the biggest thing, along with the rules of the game.”

If her track record has anything to do with it her chances of success are high. The AFLW will be her fourth different football code at a senior level, which puts her one code better than Jarryd Hayne, Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt.

In 2006 she played association football, winning an FAI Women’s Cup winner’s medal with the Mayo Ladies League representative team.

Seven years later she played club rugby union in the Connacht Women’s League.

media_camera Cora Staunton will join the Giants. Picture: Supplied

“Cora Staunton is probably the surprise package of the selections in the draft,” McConnell said.

“Cora comes from an elite background in football in Ireland. She recently played in the All Ireland final at Croke Park in front of 46,000 people on the back end of that competition, unfortunately losing. She’s a goalkicking forward so we’re looking for her to bring some goalkicking power to our team as a deep forward.”

Staunton’s decision to take on another football code came after a conversation with GWS assistant coach Nick Walsh at the Asian GA games in Shanghai last year.