The other week I read an article that listed the 20 greatest AFLW players since the league’s inception in 2017. It’s pretty standard and has players featured where you might possibly expect them to feature: Erin Phillips as number one, Daisy Pearce firmly entrenched in there, as is the likes of Emma Kearney, Chelsea Randall and a number of others.
But, it made think about the future of the league. By god we’ve got some amazing talent coming through the ranks right now. And if you don’t believe me, go and check out the AFLW’s 22 under 22 team.
So I had a thought, who would be the top 20 AFLW Rising Stars of the competition? 20 AFLW players that will carry the competition into the next decade.
If you’re scoffing at this thought - don’t. It was incredibly difficult to put together a top 20 of this. There were so many players that deserved a spot that missed out, but as the old saying goes: you cannot put 30 into 20.
So apologies to players such as Tyla Hanks, Mikayla Bowen, Millie Brown, Nell Morris-Dalton, Jacqui Yorston and Mia King. I think they’re going to be absolute guns in their own right, but I can’t put them all in this list, otherwise I’d be writing for a good while, and you’ll be reading for probably just as long.
The only rule I had for this is that the players had to be born in the year 1998 or later. So apologies to the likes of Ebony Marinoff, Tayla Harris, Libby Birch and Sarah Allan, who were all born a year early. Not that it matters too much - I think they’re all stars in their own right anyway.
20. Tahlia Randall - North Melbourne
Defenders don’t get much of a good look in any form of Aussie Rules Football, but I feel if there is one key defender that doesn’t get her plaudits, it’s Tahlia Randall. And you can trace it back to her days at Brisbane before they were pillaged by the expansion clubs. Since coming to North Melbourne, she continues to prove how strong in defence she can be. She doesn’t need to get a lot of the footy. She just needs to stop the opposition from scoring, and I think she does a damn good job of it.
19. Georgia Gee - Carlton
Georgia Gee reminds me a bit of Caleb Daniel. Both are of a very diminutive stature, but what they lack in size, they make up for it with their I.Q and skill-set and Georgia Gee is one of the most dangerous small of the competition. She played more forward this year, and did very well - kicking eight goals in seven matches, averaging 10.6 disposals and 3.6 tackles per game. She has the capabilities to play in the middle, but I think I like her more forward - that’s where she is at her best.
18. Montana McKinnon - Adelaide
McKinnon only played two games for the Crows this season. Considering the kind of form she had in the under-18s in 2019, it kind of makes me wonder why they neglected to play her. She’s very good in the air and yielded hitouts of 17 and 16 in her two games this year, so we know she’s good in the ruck contest and she’s not bad around the ground either, averaging seven touches and two marks a game. Hopefully by 2021, we get to see more of Montana McKinnon - there’s a ruck void to be filled.
17. Lucy McEvoy - Carlton
I consider Lucy McEvoy’s season as a bit all over the place. No fault of her own by any means, but the Blues played her in several roles: up forward, in the middle and she may have even spent some time in defence. But all in all, it was still a successful debut year from her. There is plenty of potential in her to become the ultimate versatile player, but I wouldn’t mind seeing her become a powerhouse midfielder, considering that she was the top pick the Blues received in the Bri Davey trade.
16. Gabby Newton - Western Bulldogs
Whilst the fanfare from last year’s draft class has so far been about the likes of Patrikios, Roux and McEvoy, the number one draft pick from last year pieced together a solid debut year. All bar one game this year saw Gabby Newton gather 11 disposals or more and averaged seven tackles per game, which says a lot about what she does both with and without the footy. In a year where there weren’t many positives from the Doggies, Newton’s development has been a shining light and she will get better in the coming years.
15. Roxanne Roux - Fremantle
Those that listen to the A3 Footy Podcast will know that I am a massive fan of Roxanne. How can you not be? She’s got the name of a rock star and she can bloody play like one too with her strong hands and unbelievable leap. The stats this year won’t read too much, but the fact she managed to play all but one game in an unbeaten team and kick 5.3 from averages of 6.7 disposals and 2.2 marks per game shows promising signs of one of the best key forwards from last year’s Draft.
14. Georgia Patrikios - St. Kilda
I think that it has been established that Georgia Patrikios is going to be a star of the competition and out of last year’s draftees, she was perhaps the best of the bunch in 2020, but will she be the best of the bunch when it is all said and done? Perhaps a bit more of an outside midfielder than inside, she still managed to get into the right spots consistently, averaging 15.7 disposals per game and hardly wasting a disposal. Well in the frame to win the Rising Star award this year, we’ll find out in due time if she’s better than Newton and McEvoy.
13. Eden Zanker - Melbourne
In a season where the Demons were without arguably the best ruck in the competition, they needed to find someone to fill the shoes. I’ve always liked Zanker as a key forward, and we saw her play glimpses in the ruck last year. But this year, we’ve seen her take another step in her development. Getting more time in the middle, she’s getting more of the footy and she’s still getting her opportunities in front of goal: 5.1 from 6.6 disposals per game last year and 4.3 from 10.3 disposals per game this year.
12. Nina Morrison - Geelong
I was slightly hesitant to put this entry here given her history with knee injuries, but as Izzy Huntington at the Bulldogs proved this year, you can overcome the obstacles. Nina Morrison was a number one draft pick for a reason. She’s a terrific two-way midfielder that can either win the footy in the contested spaces or be able to take it on the outside and run with it. Take away her last game of 2020 where she injured her knee again, Morrison averaged 15.2 disposals and 4.6 tackles per game - it was a good return from injury, and I’ll back her to come back better than ever, when we see her again.
11. Lauren Bella - Gold Coast
Taken by the Brisbane Lions with a fourth-round selection in the 2018 AFLW Draft, Lauren Bella had limited opportunities at the Lions last year, playing only the three games in 2019. That all changed when she made her way to the Gold Coast Suns as an expansion selection. From there, Bella thrived as the number one ruck at the club this year, averaging 18.6 hitouts and averaging 5.3 disposals per game as a 19-year old. Much like the future of the Suns’ AFLW club, she’s got a very bright future ahead of her in the coming years.
10. Alyce Parker - GWS
Alyce Parker came to the Giants at the end of 2018 as one of the top talents in the draft crop, which is saying something considering players such as Maddy Prespakis, Sabreena Duffy and Liv Purcell can also lay claims to this, but when you watch her go to work in a Giants’ midfield that struggled last year and fair better this year, it’s not hard to see why. She averaged 21.1 disposals this year and whilst there has been question marks on her precision to hit targets by foot, it’s harsh when you consider there are others at the club who are just as bad, if not worse.
9. Olivia Purcell - Geelong
I’m a big fan of Liv Purcell and one of a few players Geelong supporters can get very excited for in the years to come. In her first season, she finished runner-up to Meg McDonald in the Cats’ best and fairest, and there’s no reason to suggest why she won’t win it this year. She averaged 20.2 disposals and 3.2 tackles per game and snagged 4.2 goals from six games. The way she works herself out of contested spaces is incredible and being able to hit the scoreboard at this stage in her career means that she could very well average 20 and a goal soon.
8. Kalinda Howarth - Gold Coast
This one took me by surprise this year, as I’m sure it did to everybody else, but I’m glad it did. Her first two games only saw her gather the football 10 times, but she came of age against the Brisbane Lions in the first-ever Q-Clash, kicking three goals in a stirring effort. She’d go on to average 10.1 disposals a further six goals, including a bag of four against West Coast in the final round of the season. A dynamite talent that has showed early on in her career that she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
7. Caitlin Greiser - St. Kilda
Whilst we are talking about forces, This was an emerging star that I had was anticipating this year, and with good reasons. Caitlin Greiser led the Southern Saints’ goalkicking in 2019 and in doing so, was named in the VFLW team of the year. This year in the Saints’ first season, she won the league’s goal-kicking award, kicking 10.5 in just six games - underlining how massive her potential is. And if you’re still not a believer, go and watch the Saints’ win over Melbourne in round three - that pretty much announced the arrival of a new ‘G-Train’.
6. Sabreena Duffy - Fremantle
Occasionally, you watch a player for the first time and you end up saying to yourself: ‘God, this is going to be some player’. I found myself saying that about Sabreena Duffy last year when she kicked two goals in the last quarter against the Western Bulldogs to put them away. She kicked 8.5 in her first season last year. This year she kicked 12.9 in all seven of Fremantle’s wins this year (Three of those came in the Final, that’s why she didn’t win the goal-kicking award). Was named in the All-Australian squad of 40 last year, she’s a lock to get in this year.
5. Monique Conti - Richmond
As a Bulldogs’ supporter, this is still somewhat of a sensitive talking about Monique Conti playing some incredible footy at a rival Victorian club. Nonetheless, I’m happy to see her continuing to thrive as a player, albeit it is in a Richmond midfield that struggled big-time this year and the results on-field show it. However looking at her on-field achievements, she’s a premiership player, a best-on-ground medalist in the Bulldogs’ premiership in 2018 and was named an All-Australian - all before her 20th birthday last December.
4. Izzy Huntington - Western Bulldogs
The first thing you’ll probably say when you see this is that ‘She’s too high’. Given her history with injuries, fair enough. Two knee reconstructions and a broken leg before her 19th birthday would be more than plenty to raise red flags. But, when she is on the park, she is an unbelievable talent. Before she went down with her second ACL tear in 2018, she tore Brisbane’s defence to pieces. She played the last three games in 2019 and got through a whole year this year - which is fantastic. The cream on top is that she starred in the backline, and it should get her a spot in the All-Australian team this year.
3. Anne Hatchard - Adelaide
The Crows have a few talented youngsters coming through the ranks. Allen, Marinoff and stiff to miss out on this list was Danielle Ponter, Eloise Jones and Chloe Scheer - those three are genuine guns in waiting. But one player who has come so far in the span of two seasons is Anne Hatchard. The story of her transformation to fringe player to an elite one has been well documented. But going from averaging over six disposals in 2017-18 to 18.8 per game last year to 25.3 disposals this year - if that doesn’t tell you about how much of a weapon she is, then just wait for the future.
2. Chloe Molloy - Collingwood
Those that have followed me from the onset will know how big of a fan I am of Chloe Molloy. Before she was drafted she was tearing up the under-18s competition and had taken the notice of the VFLW as well in 2017. Since being drafted by the Pies, she’s played a variety of roles - almost to perfection. All-Australian and Rising Star winner as a defender in 2018. Missed all of last year with a foot injury, but played a key role as a forward and a midfielder in Collingwood’s VFLW premiership team. This year she played perhaps 50-50 defender/forward but to a positive effect. She’s the perfect versatile player.
1. Maddy Prespakis - Carlton
I did cop a bit of flack for having Maddy Prespakis behind the likes of Kate Lutkins, Brianna Davey and Anne Hatchard in my top 50 AFLW players for the season. I’ll stand by my positioning, but you can’t not get excited for what the future holds for this young lady. What are the odds that she ends her career winning an All-Australian selection in every year she plays? Because she’ll be one of the first picked this year. You can almost lock it in that she’ll win two club best and fairest in her first two seasons as well and probably keep going. How many players will we be saying have done that in the next 50 years? We know she’ll have a good career, but how far will she run with it?