“Reaching 50 games here would be very special for me, considering I’ve had a pretty large chunk of time off with an injury. It’s taken me a bit longer to get to 50 than others have, so I’d be very excited to hit that milestone.”
Those were Brit Gutknecht’s words back in April this year. She’s had to wait longer than most, but Saturday will mark her 50th career match.
We’ve taken a closer look at the defining moments of her career to date.
Drafted: Pick 48, 2019
Gutknecht was the third Northern Knights product to land at the Kennel in the 2019 Draft. arriving as a proven ball-winner and member of the 2019 Knights’ premiership team.
She was one of the Knights’ most impactful players during that campaign, averaging 16 disposals and 4.7 tackles per outing while booting nine goals.
First game: Round 4, 2020
Gutknecht was selected for her first game in Round 4 of the COVID-affected 2020 season, going down to the Eagles by four points in Perth.
Spending most of her time in the forward line, the first-gamer had seven touches and three tackles.
Remarkably, Gutknecht would have to wait 391 days before tasting AFLW success, playing in the Dogs’ win over Richmond in Round 9 of the following season.
She managed eight of the next 10 games after that win, before a horror leg injury against Port Adelaide in Season 7.
The return: Round 5, 2023
It was 391 days between games for Gutknecht, returning to the action in the team’s Mission Whitten Oval homecoming against St Kilda in 2023.
While the Saints spoiled the party that night, Gutknecht was solid with eight touches and seven tackles.
The move to defence: 2025
A positional switch ahead of the 2025 season paid dividends for Gutknecht, moving into the backline under incoming assistant coach Callum Brown. Having played mostly forward to that point in time, Gutknecht starred as a defender, averaging 16.4 disposals and 2.3 marks for the year.
She also ranked No.1 in the team for average metres gained (298) and was the leading Dogs’ defender for kicking efficiency (69.4%).
Gutknecht’s efforts were also rewarded at the 2025 AFLW Best and Fairest, claiming a career-best Top 5 finish as well as the Most Improved Player award.
