AFLW star Daisy Pearce pregnant with twins

The AFLW will be without one of its main drawcards in 2019 – for a very good reason.

Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce has announced she and partner Ben are expecting twins.

“Ben and I made two little humans. ETA March 2019,” she wrote on Instagram.

Twins won’t scare Pearce, either – she has plenty of experience with babies from her time as a midwife before the AFLW came along.

“It’s wonderful news I’m pregnant and I’ve go the added bonus of having two babies because its twins,” Pearce told News Corp.

“I’ve always looked forward to being a mum and now that journey begins. It’s a bit to get your head around. It’s probably going to be the most rewarding thing we ever do.”

The 30-year-old midfielder, who also works for Channel 7 across its AFL coverage, has been the Demons’ star player in the first two seasons of the competition.

Pearce has made the All Australian team and won Melbourne’s best and fairest in both years.

While the news will be welcomed by all, it will be a blow to the club’s on-field hopes.

In both of the first two seasons, the Dees have missed out on the grand final by percentage.

Pearce will now transition to an off-field role before eyeing off a comeback in the 2020 season.

“This is very exciting news for Daisy,” Melbourne football boss Josh Mahoney told the club’s website.

“It is a very special time in anyone’s life and we look forward to supporting her, along with her teammates, who have all now become new aunties.

“One thing we have always known about Daisy is that she never does anything half-hearted, so it was no surprise to anyone that she was having twins.

“Daisy will stay involved in our program as much as she can in a mentoring/coaching role, which will be invaluable for our young players.”

The AFL is yet to confirm the structure of the 2019 season, which is expected to again begin in early February – just weeks before Pearce’s due date.

The league faced savage criticism for refusing to lengthen the seven-week regular season used in previous years despite the introduction of new teams Geelong and North Melbourne.

Carlton star Darcy Vescio says a longer season would bring the players closer to professionalism and increase standards.

“If the season gets longer, the girls will play better footy because you don’t think every game is an absolute must win,” she told AAP.

“With the current system if you lose a game it’s just about season over … it’s such a high-stakes stressful season.

“In the AFL, often the best games come through the season when there’s less on the line.

“More games means more flow to the season, being able to work into form and better games.”

with AAP