Draft 2021 AFLW Draft discussion

[The_Wookie]

Hi guys,

the live Draft thread is now open here.

Draft - The 2021 AFLW National Draft, 6.45pm AEST on womens.afl & the AFLW app

Click for a Full list of drafted players >> ============================ The 2021 AFLW Draft will take place on Tuesday, July 27 in a virtual format, commencing at 6.45pm AEST on womens.afl and the AFLW Official App. Like last year, it will be a studio show, hosted by Nat Edwards, Sarah...

www.bigfooty.com

 

[Vacuous Space]

Looks like Chaplin and Lennox have since been added to this list, so 24 listed would make

B: Tarah Delgado - Kasey Lennox - Pia Staltari
HB: Brooke Vickers - Cadhla Schmidli - Stella Reid
C: Maykayla Appleby - Maeve Chaplin - Jorja Livingstone
HF: Emelia Yassir - Neve Crowley - Montana Ham
FF: Eliza James - Tahlia Gillard - Amanda Ling
R: Georgia Campbell - Charlie Rowbottom - Georgie Prespakis
INC: Kiana Lynch, Bridget Deed, Chloe Saultry, Charlotte Ryan, Zali Friswell, Keeley Sherar

Stronger down back with the addition of Lennox as a tall (probably takes Slender) and Chaplin can roll through there as well

Have you heard anything yet on the Country team yet? I assume a lot of the players rested on Sunday are playing for Country. Condon played for the Rebels, so might not be playing. Not sure if Amber Clarke and Grace Hay will play U17s or U19s.

 

[PMBangers]

Have you heard anything yet on the Country team yet? I assume a lot of the players rested on Sunday are playing for Country. Condon played for the Rebels, so might not be playing. Not sure if Amber Clarke and Grace Hay will play U17s or U19s.

All I know is that Slender is starting forward, McRae starting midfield (from their mouths)

I'm 99.9% confident Clarke will be playing 19s considering all the U17's I expect to play in the 17's game played on Sunday (Duursma, Williamson, Shepherd, Ryan, Skepper, etc.)

 

[cats_09]

Have you heard anything yet on the Country team yet? I assume a lot of the players rested on Sunday are playing for Country. Condon played for the Rebels, so might not be playing. Not sure if Amber Clarke and Grace Hay will play U17s or U19s.

Krock Football had a small article earlier today detailing the 6 Falcons girls who are part of the U19 squad - didn't list the full squad though

A STRONG contingent of Geelong Falcons has been named in the Vic Country under-19 girls squad ahead of April’s National Championships.

Six Falcons are part of the 27-member squad, which Falcons mentor Paul Corrigan is coaching.

Vice-captain Poppy Schaap, key forward Renee Tierney, midfielder Tess Craven, winger Ingrid Houtsma, and defenders Annie Lee and Lizzy Dowling have all been rewarded for their strong starts to the season.

K rock Football

Broadcasting every Cats game via FM 95.5, FM 88.0 at the MCG, and krockfootball.live GFNL matches can be heard via krockfootball.live MORE CATS NEWS MORE GFNL NEWS MORE BFNL NEWS MORE GDFNL NEWS MORE…

www.krockfootball.com.au

 

[PMBangers]

both teams 24 in for Friday it looks like, some exciting match up possibilities

 

[PMBangers]

Alright let's do this hey, first off, predicted line ups

VIC Country:

B: Jaide Anthony - Mackenzie Eardley - Elizabeth Dowling
HB: Chloe Leonard - Nyakoat Dojiok - Annie Lee
C: Aurora Smith - Tess Craven - Ingrid Houtsma
HF: Gabbie Featherston - Tara Slender - Ashleigh Richards
FF: Ella Friend - Renee Tierney - Amber Clarke
R: Grace Matser - Poppy Schapp - Grace McRae
INC: Abbey Jordan, Emily Shepherd, Paige Scott , Elizabeth Snell, Jemma Finning, Tahlia Meier


VIC Metro:

B: Tarah Delgado - Kasey Lennox - Pia Staltari
HB: Brooke Vickers - Cadhla Schmidli - Stella Reid
C: Maykayla Appleby - Maeve Chaplin - Jorja Livingstone
HF: Emelia Yassir - Neve Crowley - Montana Ham
FF: Eliza James - Tahlia Gillard - Amanda Ling
R: Georgia Campbell - Charlie Rowbottom - Georgie Prespakis
INC: Kiana Lynch, Bridget Deed, Chloe Saultry, Charlotte Ryan, Zali Friswell, Keeley Sherar



Five Key Match ups:

Tara Slender v Cadhla Schmidli
Slender is one of the best two contested marks in Victoria, so simply competing one-on-one isn't going to cut the cheese in the match up, but Schmidli excels with her speed and aggression at the ball, this should allow her to cut in front of Slender and get the ball to ground, where the both of them are strong and will fight until the whistle is blown. This is probably the most interesting match up in the country forward line, given Slender can be thrown around if she loses this early it might lead to a major switch up for them. Schmidli can be chopped out but Lennox as another genuine KPD, but she'd be going to our next key match up which might prove more difficult....

Ella Friend v Kasey Lennox
If Slender is number 1 for contested marking, Friend is number 2, in what will prove a difficult challenge for both players here, Lennox excelling with her ability to spoil even from behind, this feels like it'll be a momentum based win for either player, but the option to swap around with our other key match up makes it more interesting as they'll likely switch between. Friend also has the ability to go into the midfield or onto a wing, making it a team problem for Metro if she's allowed to move around

Mackenzie Eardley v Tahlia Gillard/ Georgia Campbell
The bottom-aged Eardley has arguably the toughest challenge of the day, coming up against Gillard, one of the tallest girls in the champs and Campbell who is one of the best leaps in the champs. It'll be a baptism of fire for her, as she'll need to adjust her playstyle to her opponent and there's not a lot of assistance height wise unless Slender rolls on down back. If either of the Metro Ruck/FWDs gets on top here it'll get very ugly, so it's imperative that Eardley figures out how to play both quickly, a difficult task considering she's faced neither this season

Whoever gets the job v Georgie Prespakis
God this is so key, the midfield battle is weighted Metro's way imo, and if Prespakis is allowed to get off the chain it'll be a painful day for Country. If I had to guess, I'd be saying Abbey Jordan gets to run with her throughout the game, and with neither being afraid of getting into their opponents physically it promises to be a fiery match up, but a crucial one for both teams

The wingers
Maybe a weird one given I'm not mentioning Rowbottom, but all the girls likely to roll through the wing role are quality users of the footy, but each adds something else to it. Appleby and Ryan are super speedy, utilising that speed to run and carry for Metro, Livingstone is a gut running machine and won't stop all day. Houtsma is a smart positioner, and can even weave through traffic when she gets stuck on the inside, Smith wins the footy with ease, so to see who negates who better will be interesting, and could win the contest

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Is Tahlia Gillard related to Braedyn Gillard?

 

[PMBangers]

Is Tahlia Gillard related to Braedyn Gillard?

I'm going to assume not given Braedyn was Northern Knights product and Gillard is Cannons

 

[Aardvark]

OK here it is. I hope it works.....https://womens.afl/about/u19s/watch


Watch it LIVE: 2021 NAB AFLW U17, U19 Challenge matches
https://womens.afl/news/67898

 

[Vacuous Space]

Seems to be working for me on the above link as well as this one. Also, the VC U17s team sheet doesn't seem to have Kalani Scoullar on it, but she was out on the ground just a second ago wearing #30 and is probably going to be starting ruck for Country. They've also mixed up Octavia Di Donato's and Grace Chapman's numbers, by the looks of things.

Metro numbers are even worse. Ava Jordan is 1, Charlotte Baskaran is 6, other than that it's hard to tell. I think #24 might be Hurley, but not sure. #17 Hipwell, maybe?

Commentators have the right numbers now, by the sounds of things.

 

[PMBangers]

Seems to be working for me on the above link as well as this one. Also, the VC U17s team sheet doesn't seem to have Kalani Scoullar on it, but she was out on the ground just a second ago wearing #30 and is probably going to be starting ruck for Country. They've also mixed up Octavia Di Donato's and Grace Chapman's numbers, by the looks of things.

Metro numbers are even worse. Ava Jordan is 1, Charlotte Baskaran is 6, other than that it's hard to tell. I think #24 might be Hurley, but not sure. #17 Hipwell, maybe?

Commentators have the right numbers now, by the sounds of things.

Yeah Metro have listed their club numbers, we've figured out a few but there's some that we're very iffy on

 

[PMBangers]

Pisano would go first round this year, crazy good

 

[Phar Ace]

Pisano would go first round this year, crazy good

She was good, not sure she would be first round though - but selected probably

 

[Vacuous Space]

They just shared some stats on the coverage:

Country:
McRae - 22 disposals
Craven - 21 disposals
Lee - 19 disposals
Anthony 18 disposals

Metro:
Prespakis - 32 disposals, 10 clearances
Reid - 22 disposals, 2 goals
Robottom 21 disposals

I'm assuming Ella Friend was a late withdrawal for Octavia Di Donato.
Amber Clarke seemed to injure her right leg in a first quarter tackle and did not return.

Sarah Black has posted a recap of both games
Draft Central recap of the U19s

 

[PMBangers]

They just shared some stats on the coverage:

Country:
McRae - 22 disposals
Craven - 21 disposals
Lee - 19 disposals
Anthony 18 disposals

Metro:
Prespakis - 32 disposals, 10 clearances
Reid - 22 disposals, 2 goals
Robottom 21 disposals

I'm assuming Ella Friend was a late withdrawal for Octavia Di Donato.
Amber Clarke seemed to injure her right leg in a first quarter tackle and did not return.

Not overly surprised, aligns a lot with my thoughts on the best few as well.

For the 17s game I was doing notes on the Metro girls, though the backline as a whole was really solid but Busch, McDonald and Taylor were my favourite 3, Pisano best on, Jordan and Whiley two other '05ers that were really good. Quiet game for Baskaran which was a little disappointing, however with the midfield mostly being Sandy girls and the contrasting game plans it's not overly shocking

For the 19's I was on Country, Scott and Anthony my top 2 by a mile, with Craven, McRae, Schaap, Slender in the next bunch. Result was pretty much what was expected, the metro squad was their top handful of players, mostly mids, and some talls for defense where as Country was a proper best team

 

[PMBangers]

She was good, not sure she would be first round though - but selected probably

She'd be a top 15 pick without a doubt, her confidence, speed, kick and just general footy IQ in the forward half of the ground (as a forward and attacking midfield) was almost unmatched throughout the day. If Metro in the 17's shared the ball around a bit more, rather than bomb long out of packs, she would've had 30 odd. She'll likely be in the 19's squad as a bottom-ager next year, possibly starting on the wing if today is any indication.

 

[PMBangers]

Alright now I've done my notes for ADC, some more actual thoughts on the games:


U17's - So this result was pretty expected, Country's strength here was their defense with the likes of Lil-Rose Williamson, Grace Hay and Molly Walton being really strong prospects for next year. Williamson is an awesome player to watch, just loves taking everyone on, fends off whoever gets near her, almost asks for people to try and take her on lol. Skepper was unsurprisingly awesome, she'll be in the 19's team for the remaining fixtures I imagine, almost negligent to leave her out at this stage, she'd fit in that starting midfield fairly easily. Duursma, Van Loon and Simpson were others that impressed me from Country, even if it just was small moments there was plenty to like, Duursma when she refines her kicking will be a genuine top line prospect

Metro had the expected contributors with Hurley and Hipwell leading the way in the midfield, Baskaran was very good considering she was getting tagged around stoppages, the few times she got a free run she won the clearance every time without fail, another one that could be in 19's with no issue. Pisano I've been impressed with everytime I've seen her, there's no doubt she's the clear Victorian top prospect for 2023 with her game sense just elite. Busch and Whiley were impressive in the backline along with McDonald, McDonald being part of the 19's squad I thought was interesting, but with how the 19s backline worked today I wouldn't be shocked to see her moved up. Charlotte Taylor was super impressive on a wing as well, probably Oakleighs top prospect going into next year with her ball use

U19's - So this was a good example of why you should select your rep squads on a best-by-position basis rather than just your top handfull and some talls, so many metro girls looked lost as defenders or forwards, whereas Country were just already gelled with their positions. admittedly Metro looked best in the last quarter so obviously they started to get it, but it was too little too late. Anthony clear BOG for me, just cut off so much of Metros surges, with Lee and Dojiok also doing a lot as one kick behind play type options. Scott, Schapp, Craven, McRae, Slender the main others that deserve mention imo

Prespakis and Rowbottom the clear Metro standouts, who'd have figured, with Chaplin, Crowley, Vickers and Reid playing their roles well. Rowbottom spending so much time forward, especially early on, was really frustrating, especially when she was winning essentially every clearance she could. Certainly a game to forget, with the positives really being limited to the growth in the final quarter, I expect they'll win their other games at the very least, so there's that to look forward to

 

[Biggie]

Pisano I've been impressed with

She was super impressive

 

[PMBangers]

She was super impressive

Only 15 still as well

 

[Vacuous Space]

U19's - So this was a good example of why you should select your rep squads on a best-by-position basis rather than just your top handfull and some talls, so many metro girls looked lost as defenders or forwards, whereas Country were just already gelled with their positions. admittedly Metro looked best in the last quarter so obviously they started to get it, but it was too little too late. Anthony clear BOG for me, just cut off so much of Metros surges, with Lee and Dojiok also doing a lot as one kick behind play type options. Scott, Schapp, Craven, McRae, Slender the main others that deserve mention imo

Prespakis and Rowbottom the clear Metro standouts, who'd have figured, with Chaplin, Crowley, Vickers and Reid playing their roles well. Rowbottom spending so much time forward, especially early on, was really frustrating, especially when she was winning essentially every clearance she could. Certainly a game to forget, with the positives really being limited to the growth in the final quarter, I expect they'll win their other games at the very least, so there's that to look forward to

Just on the first comment, were there players they left out of the Metro squad that were more specialist that might have helped today? I thought the biggest difference in Country's favour was the ability to create goals from f50 ground balls. Those came courtesy of Schaap, Scott, and Snell, with the first two mostly playing as small forwards and did extremely well. The only goal Metro generated that way was the Staltari one. Reid's first was a kick to the top of the square that accidentally bounced through and the second was a set shot from in close. Without having absolute numbers I feel like Metro did a better job of getting set shots, but their set shot accuracy was terrible (both in terms of behinds as well as outright misses). I feel like Metro did a lot of things right, but Country did a much better job of taking their chances.

The other thing I wanted to ask you was whether you think anybody particularly changed their draft position today. Prespakis and Rowbottom probably just solidified their spots even more. Was there anybody who genuinely surprised you with their performance?

 

[PMBangers]

Just on the first comment, were there players they left out of the Metro squad that were more specialist that might have helped today? I thought the biggest difference in Country's favour was the ability to create goals from f50 ground balls. Those came courtesy of Schaap, Scott, and Snell, with the first two mostly playing as small forwards and did extremely well. The only goal Metro generated that way was the Staltari one. Reid's first was a kick to the top of the square that accidentally bounced through and the second was a set shot from in close. Without having absolute numbers I feel like Metro did a better job of getting set shots, but their set shot accuracy was terrible (both in terms of behinds as well as outright misses). I feel like Metro did a lot of things right, but Country did a much better job of taking their chances.

The other thing I wanted to ask you was whether you think anybody particularly changed their draft position today. Prespakis and Rowbottom probably just solidified their spots even more. Was there anybody who genuinely surprised you with their performance?

Yeah there's a few from Metro that I felt probably should've been in for positional strength, Alexandra McCulloch from Chargers for their defense would've been a big help, they've got Abbey McDonald listed for the U19s as well who would've been an improvement on most of the non-KPD defenders as well. Ebony Angelopoulos as a genuine small forward as well would've been something that would've got Metro at least 2-3 more goals imo, just a few situations where I know she would've been great.

There's a few that sort of solidified their 'grouping' if that makes sense, like Craven, Lee and Anthony really put themselves up as in that grouping behind the top 3, another good game would lock that in. I've only ever seem Schapp as an inside mid, so to see her natural forward craft was really good and makes her much more of a genuine prospect in my eyes.
Metro was obviously less so with pushing girls, Ryan and Lynch are two that benefited from being in a higher quality team than Sandy, still not sure where their stocks stand but it certainly didn't hurt. Appleby as well had what I felt was her best game for the year, Sherar did some nice things in her first game as a forward as well, so she's one to watch in that space.

 

[Vacuous Space]

Yeah there's a few from Metro that I felt probably should've been in for positional strength, Alexandra McCulloch from Chargers for their defense would've been a big help, they've got Abbey McDonald listed for the U19s as well who would've been an improvement on most of the non-KPD defenders as well. Ebony Angelopoulos as a genuine small forward as well would've been something that would've got Metro at least 2-3 more goals imo, just a few situations where I know she would've been great.

There's a few that sort of solidified their 'grouping' if that makes sense, like Craven, Lee and Anthony really put themselves up as in that grouping behind the top 3, another good game would lock that in. I've only ever seem Schapp as an inside mid, so to see her natural forward craft was really good and makes her much more of a genuine prospect in my eyes.
Metro was obviously less so with pushing girls, Ryan and Lynch are two that benefited from being in a higher quality team than Sandy, still not sure where their stocks stand but it certainly didn't hurt. Appleby as well had what I felt was her best game for the year, Sherar did some nice things in her first game as a forward as well, so she's one to watch in that space.

Anthony was always going to be interesting, solely on the fact she was left out of the Academy this year. I assume that was because Covid limited their numbers, but it still made it seem like she was behind the nine (I think) NAB Leaguers they kept. Her performance today was heroic, and the helmet made sure I didn't confuse her with anyone else.

I really hope somebody gives Tierney a shot as well. Every time I see her she does good things.

I find it hard to judge the Country mids. On one hand, they got a bit of the ball; on the other hand, I thought they were pretty clearly beaten. On the other other hand, however, they were playing against Prespakis and Rowbottom, who'll walk straight into AFLW midfields, and I thought Gillard/Campbell had the better of Matser.

I also thought the standard was higher, in general, than I remember from the corresponding game two years ago.

 

[PMBangers]

Anthony was always going to be interesting, solely on the fact she was left out of the Academy this year. I assume that was because Covid limited their numbers, but it still made it seem like she was behind the nine (I think) NAB Leaguers they kept. Her performance today was heroic, and the helmet made sure I didn't confuse her with anyone else.

I really hope somebody gives Tierney a shot as well. Every time I see her she does good things.

I find it hard to judge the Country mids. On one hand, they got a bit of the ball; on the other hand, I thought they were pretty clearly beaten. On the other other hand, however, they were playing against Prespakis and Rowbottom, who'll walk straight into AFLW midfields, and I thought Gillard/Campbell had the better of Matser.

I also thought the standard was higher, in general, than I remember from the corresponding game two years ago.

Anthony was a weird exclusion looking back, there's still no reason they had to limit the academy like they did, and if they don't expand it next year they'll be missing out in some even better players.

Tierney is certainly a chance, but as a stronger 19 year old she's relying on being able to back these performances up in VFLW

Country were pretty comprehensively beaten in clearances and around stoppages, but I felt their contribution in open play was possibly better than the Metro mids overall, with Craven and McRae really finding ways to control the tempo as it went on, but yes, Rowy and Georgie are going to be round 1 starters next season so there's no shame in losing to those two specifically.

I didn't watch it live two years ago, but watching it back last night I'd agree, nice to see that improvement across both squads

 

[Pie 4 Life]

I also thought the standard was higher, in general, than I remember from the corresponding game two years ago.

The standard was definitely better. As we've seen gradually over time (not just in Vic but across the country), the top-end talent is at a minimum just as good, but for a couple better than their predecessors. But the real change is in the "bottom-end" if you like. The last 6-8 players representing the states are far superior than their predecessors. It's what makes it such an even contest, and why it is harder and harder to agree on bests. I remember watching it years ago when Chloe Molloy and Monique Conti were running around for Calder. It was a case of chucking em in the best before a game, and you wouldn't need to tell people who to watch out for, they just dominated.

Fast forward to now, and you've obviously got your standouts who perform every week, but you have so many who pop up every now and again with some great performances, or even just the role players have their moments, and it's fantastic to see such competitive football.

 

[toenail63]

P4L This is great to see this competition is now there amongst the youth elite rep levels, it will now raise the bar to be successful even further and will see rapid growth in and make for stronger more skillful teams in the AFLW competition. It should also help raise the level at VFLW and State leagues, which is a good thing for those leagues.

 

[PMBangers]

AFL Women's Under 17 Championships: Metro too strong for Country

Vic Metro proved too strong for Vic Country in the opening match of the 2021 AFL Women's Under 17 Championships with a number of top performers on the day.

afl.draftcentral.com.au

Write up + notes for the U17's, hoping the U19's notes will come out tomorrow at some point