Club Focus Essendon 2024

[Lore]

Signings so far:

AFLW: player
Open Age: players
NGA: nil

 

[Lore]

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

www.womens.afl

THE FOUR expansion clubs will be able to sign up to 14 current AFLW players in a special 'expansion signing period', in proposed rules released by the AFL on Monday.

Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney will join the NAB AFLW competition ahead of the 2022-23 season, rounding out all 18 clubs.

The AFL hasn’t yet confirmed rules around the number of players per existing club who can move to new clubs.

Last expansion round, Brisbane and Fremantle could lose up to eight players, given Gold Coast and West Coast were entering the competition, with other teams losing up to four.

The new clubs can also acquire players through the following methods:

• Open-age signings: players who have previously nominated for the NAB AFLW Draft and aren’t on a list
• Under-18 talent from their NGA region. There will be a limit on this category, which is yet to be determined
• Sign and trade period: following the expansion signing period. Expansion clubs cannot on-trade players they have signed through other mechanisms
• NAB AFLW Draft

The expansion clubs will receive the first eight picks of the state-based draft, with the order to be determined at random.

They will then receive remaining picks at the end of each round, following the existing 14 clubs.

A number of Essendon and Hawthorn VFLW players nominated for the 2021 draft, making them eligible for signing as an open-age player.

Bombers VFLW skipper and competition best and fairest Georgia Nanscawen opted not to nominate for the 2021 draft, but should be eligible as an open-age signing as she has previously gone through the drafting process.

The AFL has said final list build rules will be determined in 2022.

So we should be able to sign any of our VFLW players who nominated in 2021 or before, sign some existing AFLW players from other clubs, plus two picks in the first 8 and a bunch of later picks.

PMBangers Pie 4 Life any thoughts on who we might be able to get, or who we should keep an eye on?

 

[Lore]

RedmanWasHere fyi

 

[RedmanWasHere]

RedmanWasHere fyi

Thanks Lore.

 

[PMBangers]

@PMBangers @Pie 4 Life any thoughts on who we might be able to get, or who we should keep an eye on?

For the U18 prelistings you'll only get Calder region, so Abbey McDonald, Tahlia Read and Reese Sutton are the best chances there

 

[Pie 4 Life]

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

www.womens.afl

So we should be able to sign any of our VFLW players who nominated in 2021 or before, sign some existing AFLW players from other clubs, plus two picks in the first 8 and a bunch of later picks.

PMBangers Pie 4 Life any thoughts on who we might be able to get, or who we should keep an eye on?

Georgia Nanscawen
Courtney Ugle
Eloise Ashley-Cooper
Eloise Gardner

are the VFLW picks. Then there's the AFLW experienced ones like Bella Ayre, Jordan Zanchetta and Kendra Heil.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Georgia Nanscawen

No. 1 for me and should be AFLW captain.

 

[Lore]

No. 1 for me and should be AFLW captain.

I’m surprised we have VFLW co-captains this year. Not a slight on Mia-Rae Clifford but Nanscawen is head and shoulders above the rest I think. And she just took out the BnF!

 

[Pie 4 Life]

I’m surprised we have VFLW co-captains this year. Not a slight on Mia-Rae Clifford but Nanscawen is head and shoulders above the rest I think. And she just took out the BnF!

Maybe the oldest succession plan in history for when Nanscawen goes up to AFLW level? haha

 

[Lore]

Maybe the oldest succession plan in history for when Nanscawen goes up to AFLW level? haha

That might be it

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Having a look at Essendon's 2022 VFLW list, Simone Nalder has to be a prelisting by the AFLW side.

186cm ruckwoman should be high on the priorities list.

 

[Lore]

Well, our VFLW side looked decent this weekend (98-0 over a decimated Doggies side this afternoon), so I suspect quite a few of them will form the nucleus for our own AFLW side.

Looking through our VFLW initial 2022 list the other day and there's quite a few ex-AFLW players that dropped out of the league due to injury or whatever and are now fit again.

VFLW Bombers reveal initial playing list

See who'll be donning the sash for the VFLW Bombers in 2022.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Also checked them all against the draft nominees for 2021 and most of them did nominate, in fact I'd say all of them have nominated. The only ones that didn't nominate in 2021 are ex-AFLW players anyway so they obviously nominated in a past year.

We should therefore be able to sign whoever we want from there. Keeping a group together that has a strong culture and has played together for a few years would be a smart move I think, plus bringing in a couple of existing AFLW players and 18 year olds and so on, of course.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Geelong, Richmond and St Kilda also thought it'd be smart to elevate a dozen players from their strong VFLW teams onto their inaugural AFLW lists. It wasn't. They were sucked in by performance at a lower level and got the ratio with existing AFLW players ass backwards. Aiming to emulate that failed formula makes no sense.

This is what will work:
12 current "best 21" AFLW players
6 open-age signings from VFLW
6 from 2022 draft (including any u18 pre-listings)
3 current "fringe" AFLW players (ideally ready-to-take-next-the-step types who've had limited opportunity at a top team)
3 cross-code rookies (preferably of the Irish persuasion, count Doonan in this category if she's to be signed)

 

[Lore]

3 current "fringe" AFLW players (ideally ready-to-take-next-the-step types who've had limited opportunity at a top team)

I think we have 4-5 ex-AFLW players that dropped out of the league due to an injury or whatever that has since healed. Effectively like a DFA I guess? I don’t know if that counts as a fringe player for your purposes; e.g. Sarah Ford, Jordan Zanchetta, Georgia Nanscawen.

Frew is from soccer, Doonan is Irish yeah, haven’t seen her play yet as she only landed last week. Ashley-Cooper is from netball.

Then we have Octavia di Donato on our development list, I don’t know if we have rights to sign her but if she’s any good we’ll know enough about it to make a serious effort at drafting her when the time comes. Renee Tierney went undrafted last year due to lack of exposure, she’d be a good chance as a 19 year old too I think.

Otherwise we had about six of our VFLW girls drafted last year and a few the year before as well, so likely would look to bring some of them back to the club if they’re willing.

Star ball-winner Georgie Prespakis headlined the group as the No.2 pick (Geelong), with Zali Friswell (pick No.7, Geelong), Emelia Yassir (pick No.16, Richmond), Tara Slender (pick No.19, North Melbourne), Elizabeth Snell (pick No.27, Western Bulldogs) and Tahlia Gillard (pick No.42, Melbourne) also finding new homes.

Alana Barba was rookied by GC as well, so that’s 7.

And then there’s the actual draft and the chance to lure a marquee player or two from other clubs as well.

It’s not quite the 12 best 21 players from across the league, you mentioned — a couple of marquee players and bringing back half a dozen former VFLW bombers isn’t quite the same thing. But it’s a rough outline and a few names to build on I hope…

 

[Teen Wolf]

I think we have 4-5 ex-AFLW players that dropped out of the league due to an injury or whatever that has since healed. Effectively like a DFA I guess? I don’t know if that counts as a fringe player for your purposes; e.g. Sarah Ford, Jordan Zanchetta, Georgia Nanscawen.

Well I wouldn't have thought to count Sarah Ford because she hasn't played at AFLW level. Even so, fudging a bit in that bracket isn't going to be the make or break part of the list build.

The key distinction I'm getting at is somebody like Ruby Svarc (who wouldn't be getting a game if Brisbane had a full squad to pick from) should not be seen as more than a "current fringe AFLW player" if she were to sign with Essendon.

12 "current best 21 AFLW players" needs to be the clear-cut non-negotiable part. And among that needs to be 3 AA calibre midfielders and a couple AA calibre forwards (calibre in the sense of: maybe not yet fully proven, but definitely already on their way), rather than just a marquee player or two.

 

[Lore]

Well I wouldn't have thought to count Sarah Ford because she hasn't played at AFLW level. Even so, fudging a bit in that bracket isn't going to be the make or break part of the list build.

The key distinction I'm getting at is somebody like Ruby Svarc (who wouldn't be getting a game if Brisbane had a full squad to pick from) should not be seen as more than a "current fringe AFLW player" if she were to sign with Essendon.

12 "current best 21 AFLW players" needs to be the clear-cut non-negotiable part. And among that needs to be 3 AA calibre midfielders and a couple AA calibre forwards (calibre in the sense of: maybe not yet fully proven, but definitely already on their way), rather than just a marquee player or two.

Re: Sarah Ford, idk haha. I don't watch AFLW closely, but I do follow our VFLW team, watch pretty much every game and whatever other content we can get about it. This is what they said about her when they introduced our new players;

“We’ve got Sarah Ford, who moved down from Sydney in November after spending a couple of years on the edge of AFLW selection for GWS. She’s a big Bombers fan and has family in Craigieburn, which has made the transition easier.

VFLW Bombers reveal initial playing list

See who'll be donning the sash for the VFLW Bombers in 2022.

www.essendonfc.com.au

So far I don't think she stands out much at VFLW level, but she has at least been drafted before in terms of eligibility and experience training at an AFLW level.

Re: the other 12, yeah for sure. Having a fair group of the VFLW players coming up into the AFLW team together will be a good thing in terms of developing the culture and having some members of the team who already know the game plan and such, but they become the role players at the next level. Will wait and see what they come back with as I guess there will be a few surprises as there always are.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I rate Joanne Doonan and Bella Ayre as former Carlton players. Just saw glimpses of what they are capable of if they are hungry enough.

Only returning home due to Covid saw Doonan lost to us.

 

[FoopyNerd]

Then we have Octavia Di Donato on our development list, I don’t know if we have rights to sign her but if she’s any good we’ll know enough about it to make a serious effort at drafting her when the time comes.

Bendigo is an Essendon aligned club so they will have first rights to pre-list her if they want I imagine.

 

[Lore]

First AFLW signing for the club!



CrowdedHouse

 

[RedmanWasHere]

First AFLW signing for the club!



CrowdedHouse

She's gotta be the inaugural captain.

 

[Lore]

She's gotta be the inaugural captain.

I hope so.

 

[Lore]

Prespakis and Gee commit to AFLW Bombers

The Bombers' inaugural AFLW team secures a massive double coup.

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Signings so far:

1. Georgia Nanscawen (Open Age)
2. Madison Prespakis (AFLW Sign & Trade)
3. Georgia Gee (AFLW Sign & Trade)

How interesting.

A Georgia.
Another Georgia.
And a sister of a Georgie.

Plus head AFLW recruiter Georgia Harvey. (Not sure if she's related to Mark Harvey or not.)

 

[Lore]

How interesting.

A Georgia.
Another Georgia.
And a sister of a Georgie.

Plus head AFLW recruiter Georgia Harvey. (Not sure if she's related to Mark Harvey or not.)

I don't think she is (Harvey) but I was wondering the same thing about all the Georgias haha. G is the new H.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

G is the new H.

Or, in Essendon's case, Gee.