The North Melbourne icon has forged a career laden with a best-and-fairest, three premierships and a staggering eight all-Australian blazers.
But the 36-year-old might still feel a pang of regret after missing the first representative match the women's game has seen for nearly 10 years.
Saturday's sellout Australia-Ireland blockbuster will proceed without her after the legendary defender pulled out of the star-studded squad with a hamstring injury.
The move has fuelled renewed retirement speculation, but Kearney's Kangaroos teammate and fellow eight-time all-Australian Jasmine Garner is more circumspect.
"I'm not sure what Kearney's going to do, to be honest," Garner, who will captain Australia against Ireland, told AAP ahead of the North Sydney Oval show-stopper.
"She's been such a competitor, and I guess all the girls know that have played against her, when she plays she gives everything she's got."
Kearney played alongside Garner in the AFLW's only other representative fixture to date, when the pair helped Victoria give the Allies a 97-point whalloping at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium in 2017.
The six-season Kangaroos captain has rebounded from a hamstring injury before, to  lead the club to its maiden AFLW premiership in 2024 having spent the back half of the regular season in the casualty ward.
She stood down as captain prior to the 2025 season.
But far from winding down, Kearney's decision to sit out Saturday's international clash was all about keeping her fresh for future fixtures.
"She's been a leader at our club for so long, and to be honest, she probably could have got herself up for this game," Garner said.
"It would have been pushing it, but she thought she would step aside and focus on the club's footy."
Garner has found a silver lining in her teammates's absence with Brisbane Lions captain Bre Koenen now set to don the national jersey.
"Bre is a competitor, she's a well-respected player in our competition, so (I'm) happy that she gets the chance," she said.
It will be hard for Kearney and Garner's North Melbourne to improve come AFLW season, having not dropped a single game in 2025 to become the competition's only consecutive premiers.
The club extended their winning streak on Saturday by trouncing cross-town rivals Essendon by 46 points in the AFLW's pre-season opener.
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