SINEAD Goldrick, one of Melbourne’s two Irish recruits, now has a very special connection with the red and blue.

The 29-year-old received her jumper from Brian Stynes – brother of the late Brownlow Medallist, Jim Stynes – and wore it with pride in her debut against the Kangas on Saturday afternoon.

Goldrick joined the club alongside Niamh McEvoy over the off-season and is a star Gaelic footballer back home, as Stynes touched on in his pre-game presentation.

“This girl has had an amazing career over in Ireland and Dublin,” Stynes said in the Dees’ rooms.

“She’s won three premierships over there and hopefully this is the first game of a great career for the Melbourne Football Club as well.”

Goldrick certainly didn’t look out of place on Casey Fields, using her speed to play an important role in defence.

And while she is still new to the game, her sporting background came in handy on the weekend.

“There are definitely [similarities] in terms of using the open side and runners coming through,” Goldrick told Melbourne Media post-game.

“There are hits in there, but I like that, so it’s good.”

The Demons held onto a two-point victory with four debutants in their side, and Goldrick certainly embraced the challenge of footy at the top level.

“[It was] really enjoyable and it was great that we got the win,” she said.

“I think North Melbourne came out with a higher intensity in the first quarter, but we stuck to our game plan and everyone pulled in at different stages.”

Goldrick will only get better with experience and will be looking to build on her form against the Bulldogs on Friday night.