2020 AFLW Draft Results

[AlphaSheep]

AFLW: Saints snare gun Stingray

Speedy Stingray Molly McDonald has signed to St Kilda for the AFLW 2020 Season.

www.saints.com.au

AFLW: Shannon signs with saints

St Kilda has secured yet another young talent in Isabella Shannon ahead of the 2020 AFLW Season.

www.saints.com.au

Oops, forgot about those two. I was thinking about Richmond.

Actually, the more I think about it, I was wrong -- TAC Cup had both the Jets and the Cannons in Essendon's zone for the boys, I assume that's followed over to the NAB League. I still think the other clubs will kick up a stink, but if Essendon does enter in 2023, Ham to the Bombers would be the obvious way to get their fans excited for season one.

If there's only a two-team expansion in 2023 (Port and one Vic team) because the Swans can't finish their new training facility, then the Bombers will be really pissed if it's not them, because they'll miss their chance at Ham.

 

[toenail63]

Richmond getting McKenzie is obviously the big one. Really glad to see Luka Lesosky-Hay get a shot. She was really unlucky last year as one of the top mids for the Falcons and Vic Country at the champs. I know nothing about Tessa Lavey, but I think they said on coverage that she hasn't played football at all.

Well done to your mob on picking up Tyanna Smith. I mentioned on the Tigers board that maybe we could hope for sliders, one being Renee Saulitis another really good pick up for the Saints. My preferences wouldn’t matter anyway as far removed from Tigers recruiters, who would have a much better idea then me BTW, picking an elite 27 yr old sportswoman in Tessa Lavey, and a mid we have been developing with Luka whose spot she grabbed from one of her 2019 cohort that we delisted. Luka must have really impressed the Tigers coaches and worked hard to be offered a list spot. Agree that she was unlucky in not getting on Geelong’s list last year. Maybe Geelong earmarked the two younger mids in Maloney and Gardner for this draft.

 

[Vacuous Space]

Maybe we see some of the talls that Vacuous Space keeps mentioning as being the players to eventually phase out Lamb. I can see Pritchard in particular being effective in that big bodied role with her ability to get her hands up in the tackle and find an effective handpass. We are definitely accumulating a tall list so it will be interesting to see how we structure up next year.

In Sarah Black's article today, she mentioned the Dogs believe Pritchard can play back, mid or forward - which might be a clue as to where they'll start her. I suspect that getting Fitz and Hartwig was the plan all along and that Pritch was a value selection at the end of the round. They'd probably have been equally happy to have taken any of the girls taken in front of her if Pritch had been gone. While I'd expect their first two picks to play straight away, I think Pritch might take some time. I could definitely see a situation where the Dogs rotate girls like Newton and Pritch through the middle and the forward line. There's also Katie Lynch and Issy Grant, who have spent time as both mids and key forwards.

It's also worth mentioning that, among the group of 10 2019 Metro players on the Dogs' list, Georgostathis, Gutknecht and Lagioia all got time in the centre for Metro - and Gutknecht was a starter there. Georgo is probably going to start as a defender and Lagioia will probably play a combination of inside and outside roles. Gutknecht is a genuine mid, though. Ideally, you'd love to have had her play a full season of VFLW this year. Realistically, this is going to be another development year for the Dogs. I wouldn't be at all suprised to see a big increase in Gutkecht's game time.

At the end of next season, you'll have Lamb, Scott and Spark all coming off two year deals and all regressed last year. I really wouldn't be surprised if none of them are at the Dogs in 2022, for one reason or another.

 

[Vacuous Space]

And yes, Ham's draft year is going to be crazy deep, especially for agile talls, but I think Ham will still be head and shoulders over them like McKenzie was head and shoulders over this year's. That kind of player can make a team, on and off field. Clubs will be chasing that No.1 pick like Gollum after a ring.

Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part. I'd like to think the gap between, say, Ham and Baskaran isn't worth doing anything drastic over. Bad teams naturally get worse as the season goes on because they tend to start getting games into young players. I'd differentiate that from tanking.

 

[Vacuous Space]

Is the Georgie Prespakis better than Maddy at the same age

I never saw Maddy play as a junior. What I've heard from people who have seen both is that Maddy was the more inside player. Maddy's a superstar, though, and Georgie probably will be, too.

 

[PMBangers]

Is the Georgie Prespakis better than Maddy at the same age

IMO yes, Georgie is a lot harder to bring to ground and probably more versatile from what I've seen, she'd be one of the leading prospects for next year across the nation

 

[Vacuous Space]

Well done to your mob on picking up Tyanna Smith. I mentioned on the Tigers board that maybe we could hope for sliders, one being Renee Saulitis another really good pick up for the Saints. My preferences wouldn’t matter anyway as far removed from Tigers recruiters, who would have a much better idea then me BTW, picking an elite 27 yr old sportswoman in Tessa Lavey, and a mid we have been developing with Luka whose spot she grabbed from one of her 2019 cohort that we delisted. Luka must have really impressed the Tigers coaches and worked hard to be offered a list spot. Agree that she was unlucky in not getting on Geelong’s list last year. Maybe Geelong earmarked the two younger mids in Maloney and Gardner for this draft.

Thanks to the virus, I'm not sure Luka got much of a chance to impress. I think it's more a case of Richmond taking a chance on her with a late pick - probably realising they need to add some midfield depth. Luka's an actual mid - as opposed to most of the NAB League girls Richmond took after Molan - and she spent a lot of time in the centre with the likes of Sophie Molan at the champs last year. I don't think her champs form or VFLW form was anywhere near her NAB form, which probably contributed to her missing out. She probably had some idea that Geelong weren't that keen, as I believe she selected all of Victoria, rather than just the Geelong zone. Hopefully her selection gives an example for some of the girls that missed out this year.

EDIT: After posting this, I discovered that Luka had been an injury replacement player at Richmond. This is likely what toenail63 was referring to and I was too much of a dope to go check before responding. My apologies, toe!

 

[AlphaSheep]

Is the Georgie Prespakis better than Maddy at the same age

Yes, Georgie's basically Maddy's skills in a bigger, more athletic body. And she won the entire NAB League season MVP as a bottom-ager, when most girls are just happy to be in the team.

 

[AlphaSheep]

Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part. I'd like to think the gap between, say, Ham and Baskaran isn't worth doing anything drastic over. Bad teams naturally get worse as the season goes on because they tend to start getting games into young players. I'd differentiate that from tanking.

Promising Ham to Essendon as a pre-draft selection could be a good way to prevent tanking. Baskaran is terrific, I think, but Monty's on another planet.

This talk of No.1 picks nearly has me more interested in who'll finish last in Victoria than who'll finish first. There are no weak Victorian midfields any longer. Any of them, plus Georgie Prespakis, will immediately become the best midfield in the country, or very close to it. I mean, imagine if it's Richmond. Conti, McKenzie and Prespakis? Or even Blackburn, FitzGerald and Prespakis? Patrikios, Smith and Prespakis? Davey, Lambert and Prespakis?

 

[Vacuous Space]

Promising Ham to Essendon as a pre-draft selection could be a good way to prevent tanking. Baskaran is terrific, I think, but Monty's on another planet.

This talk of No.1 picks nearly has me more interested in who'll finish last in Victoria than who'll finish first. There are no weak Victorian midfields any longer. Any of them, plus Georgie Prespakis, will immediately become the best midfield in the country, or very close to it. I mean, imagine if it's Richmond. Conti, McKenzie and Prespakis? Or even Blackburn, FitzGerald and Prespakis? Patrikios, Smith and Prespakis? Davey, Lambert and Prespakis?

Wouldn't any Vic expansion prevent tanking for Ham? If teams know Essendon/Hawthorn/both are coming in for 2023, they'll know that the expansion teams are a chance to be awarded the top pick. If it's both teams, then you could have this fascinating tightrope walk where they're both trying to assemble lists just bad enough to still get the top pick. Expansion tanking. Kate Sheahan might be available by then if they need guidance.

I don't actually think the league's going to give Essendon access to the Jets (it's just part of my personal nightmare where Essendon get an instantly competitive team). The league gave St Kilda access to Dandenong and Sandringham. I'm pretty sure Richmond were given access to team/s, but opted not to sign anyone. (I can't remember who, however, and I haven't been able to find anything googling, so I could be wrong.) Following the same model, they'll probably give Essendon access to Calder, Northern or both. Hawthorn probably get Eastern, maybe Dandenong again (I think the plan is for them to play out of Dingley). I don't think many of the top 2022 prospects (so far) are from those teams - Amber Clarke is the only one that immediately springs to mind.

Another scenario I'd put forward with Prespakis: what if she wants to play with her sister? Obviously, it's difficult to get to Carlton, but there may be motivation for both teams to get it done ahead of expansion if that's what the sisters actually want. Of course, it's quite possible that Georgie's happy being a star in her own right somewhere else. It's at least something to think about. I'm just hoping we get to see Georgie in the big V at the championships at least once. It would have been nice to see a Fitzgerald/McKenzie/Prespakis midfield this year. Thanks, coronavirus.

 

[Biggie]

2020 NAB AFL Women’s Draft Selection Order

Round 1
1. Richmond - Ellie McKenzie
2. Western Bulldogs - Jess Fitzgerald
3. West Coast - Isabella Lewis
4. Adelaide - Teah Charlton
5. Melbourne - Alyssa Bannan
6. St Kilda - Tyanna Smith
7. Gold Coast - Annise Bradfield
8. Brisbane - Zimmorlei Farquharson
9. GWS - Tarni Evans
10. Geelong - Darcy Moloney
11. Western Bulldogs - Sarah Hartwig
12. Carlton - Mimi Hill
13. North Melbourne - Isabella Eddey
14. Fremantle - Sarah Verrier
15. Melbourne - Elizabeth McNamara
16. Western Bulldogs - Isabelle Pritchard

Round 2
17. Melbourne - Maggie Caris
18. West Coast - Shanae Davison
19. Collingwood - Tarni Brown
20. Geelong - Laura Gardiner
21. Geelong - Olivia Barber
22. North Melbourne - Alice O'Loughlin
23. Gold Coast - Sarah Perkins
24. St Kilda - Alice Burke
25. Collingwood - Amelia Velardo
26. Collingwood - Joanna Lin
27. Geelong - Stephanie Williams
28. Carlton - Daisy Walker
29. GWS - Emily Pease
30. Fremantle - Mikayla Morrison

Round 3
31. Collingwood - Abbi Moloney
32. West Coast - Julie-Anne Norrish
33. Collingwood - PASS
34. St Kilda - Renee Saulitis
35. Melbourne - Megan Fitzsimon
36. Carlton - Winnie Laing
37. Brisbane - Indy Tahau
38. Brisbane - Ruby Svarc
39. Geelong - Carly Remmos
40. St Kilda - Jacqueline Vogt
41. Melbourne - Mietta Kendall
42. GWS - Libby Graham
43. Richmond - Tessa Lavey

Round 4
44. North Melbourne - Georgia Hammond
45. Adelaide - Rachelle Martin
46. Fremantle - Tiah Haynes
47. Adelaide - Ashleigh Woodland
48. Melbourne - Isabella Simmons
49. North Melbourne - Brooke Brown
50. Gold Coast - Maddison Levi
51. St Kilda - Pass

Round 5
52. Richmond - Luka Lesosky-Hay
53. West Coast - Andrea Gilmore
54. Gold Coast - Janet Baird
55. North Melbourne - Amy Smith

Round 6
56. West Coast - Pass
57. Gold Coast - Lucy Single

Round 7
58. Gold Coast - Elizabeth Keaney

Round 8
59. West Coast - Pass
60. Gold Coast - Daisy D'Arcy

Round 9
61. Gold Coast - Wallis Randell