AFLW West Coast Womens 2025

[Byron_Clanger]

They can do a nice edit, not gonna lie.

Know very little about her since she's only managed one game (not surprised playing at North) but what I see from the article is another player who can play multiple roles, who also has speed AND endurance? Very good, sign me up.

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

They can do a nice edit, not gonna lie.

So it is Slocombe and a F2026 R4 tied to Richmond for pick 48. Feels like good business

 

[Keys]

We're really gonna be doing nothing this trade period with two starting 16 players who are our speedsters down with ACLs

Well, well, well, would you look at that- we’ve made a trade

Wonder what her strengths are?



Explosive speed

It’s almost like they had an idea what they were doing

Still only young too - turned 20 on Saturday

Good get for a late R3 pick

 

[squashface]

Excellent bit of business

 

[Biggie]

Just a link to Ella in relation to that snippet Keys posted

Ella Slocombe Draft Profile

Ella Slocombe is one of the most eye-catching players in the AFLW Draft with outstanding athletic traits and skill.

central.rookieme.com

Decent deal, I do hope she comes on at this level for us.

 

[Monocle]

I like this acquisition to our list, still very young and understandably deprived of opportunities in a stacked North Melbourne side, Slocombe plays in a role that we need some reinforcements with.

Good and smart piece of business, with a very modest outlay, by way of draft capital.

 

[UseR2006]

 

[Ilkka Sinisalo]

For what it's worth, the RookieMe phantom draft had her going #10 to St Kilda and made it sound like it was a pretty big surprise that she fell to #26. Assuming that she still has the attributes that made her highly-rated going into the draft, this is a quite sensible low risk move that is also beneficial for the player (who was blocked for playing time at the best side in the comp).

One thing that's very hard to quantify is how her game has developed in the past two years since she basically hasn't played competitive football. I did find this comment about her (one) game from the NMFC thread on here:

She had three involvements in North's first score, a tackle, a pressure act that led to a St Kilda miskick and then a kick into the forward 50 that led to Emma King's behind. And she also had another kick into the forward 50 that led to Bogue's first goal.

And that was all in the opening 5 minutes. She was a little quieter after that opening rush, but 7 disposals, 5 tackles and 2 score involvements is a pretty good start to her career.

She is out of contract at the end of the season, so it will be interesting to see what happens with her future and with our two other youngsters, but I hope we re-sign her as we have put two years of development in her and she didn't look out of place at AFLW level yesterday.

 

[WCE777]

Wonder how we are going with our other targets?
Sophie Peters looks to be a very similer player to Slocombe and would be a good get.
Keeley Skepper would aso be a solid aquisition to the forward half, 38 games and 21 who has played across all 3 lines of the field, U16's and U18's VIC Country MVP in 2022 so has some real talent.

Put those 3 on the list and pick up a 1st round pick and we would have a great off season.

 

[Keys]

Watching the men’s training and Sarah Lakay (think it was her) running some laps with Daisy. Then later Charlotte Riggs has been out there - must have run past me a dozen or more times doing full laps without a break

 

[AlphaSheep]

For what it's worth, the RookieMe phantom draft had her going #10 to St Kilda and made it sound like it was a pretty big surprise that she fell to #26. Assuming that she still has the attributes that made her highly-rated going into the draft, this is a quite sensible low risk move that is also beneficial for the player (who was blocked for playing time at the best side in the comp).

One thing that's very hard to quantify is how her game has developed in the past two years since she basically hasn't played competitive football. I did find this comment about her (one) game from the NMFC thread on here:

I saw that game for North Melbourne - she did look very good for a rookie. It's also worth remembering that the first of her two years at North, she was getting over an ACL she suffered before the season started, so it's not like she wasn't able to get a game for two full seasons. She hasn't played much, but she'll be a) raring to go, and b) will have spent two years (but only one full season actually training) in the best AFLW program there is, which can't have done her any harm.

I think she hadn't been playing for very long in the WAFLW, either, I remember that she shot out of nowhere to suddenly rise to contention. So she was on a vertical improvement trajectory when she was drafted, with massive upside. You'd never wish an ACL on anyone, but it might have worked out well for us - if she hadn't torn it in year one, she might have become a regular in North this season, and not wanted to leave.

It will be interesting to see where she ends up getting played. She's been a small forward most of her career, but Daisy likes versatility, and Dalgleish is already good in the small forward role. I reckon Daisy herself isn't sure, will wait until next pre-season to sort it out. My guess is she'll end up in competition with Bushby/Western/Britton for one of those spots, which is exactly where we need more depth.

So, VERY clever work by our coaches, got a potentially very good young player for not much, and in exactly one of the positions we need.

 

[AlphaSheep]

Wonder how we are going with our other targets?
Sophie Peters looks to be a very similer player to Slocombe and would be a good get.
Keeley Skepper would aso be a solid aquisition to the forward half, 38 games and 21 who has played across all 3 lines of the field, U16's and U18's VIC Country MVP in 2022 so has some real talent.

Put those 3 on the list and pick up a 1st round pick and we would have a great off season.

I reckon the reason it's taking this long is that Brisbane and Carlton are holding out for a better deal, but we're determined not to pay too much, which is hopefully a good sign. Maybe we could have gotten comparable players to those three in the draft, but they'd be kids, and not as developed as these three. Which would be fine if our average age was 27, but it's not. So yeah, if we got all three without losing our top pick, it would be a serious bit of work.

Also, if we got all three, odds are even stronger we'd go for a key position player with pick one. Scarlet Johnson would still qualify, as she's a proper defender, but probably not Maggie Johnstone. Which brings me back to Mackereth, as the best forward likely to still be there at our top pick.

Or maybe they'd go a proper marking tall, if our other three were all small mids, and take Olivia Crane. We already have a few like her, but none as good in that spot, and she's a West Australian. I've never seen a tall defender as clever as her, in the WAFLW as a 16 year old rookie she was making players twice her age look silly. Picking her would add some balance to an intake of smalls.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Never going to say no to speed and upside. Do think we need to start addressing the mid-20s age bracket to have some midfield grunt alongside Ella.

 

[WCE777]

I reckon the reason it's taking this long is that Brisbane and Carlton are holding out for a better deal, but we're determined not to pay too much, which is hopefully a good sign. Maybe we could have gotten comparable players to those three in the draft, but they'd be kids, and not as developed as these three. Which would be fine if our average age was 27, but it's not. So yeah, if we got all three without losing our top pick, it would be a serious bit of work.

Also, if we got all three, odds are even stronger we'd go for a key position player with pick one. Scarlet Johnson would still qualify, as she's a proper defender, but probably not Maggie Johnstone. Which brings me back to Mackereth, as the best forward likely to still be there at our top pick.

Or maybe they'd go a proper marking tall, if our other three were all small mids, and take Olivia Crane. We already have a few like her, but none as good in that spot, and she's a West Australian. I've never seen a tall defender as clever as her, in the WAFLW as a 16 year old rookie she was making players twice her age look silly. Picking her would add some balance to an intake of smalls.

I don't know your knowledge of the AFLW players but to me seems well above average for the average BF poster, seems you have some knowledge of pathways or involvement and have come to value your inputs highly.
I can see the rationale for your thoughts, if we get 2 of these 3 targets or even all of them we need a KP player to balance for sure.
Z Wakfer and Cleaver have grown out of site this year and will look to lock down 2 KPD positions going forward for some time.
The future of S McDonald is very uncertian and L Boyd drafted last year is not KP height and probably ends up forward with some more pre-season's under her belt.
Olivia Crane looks a very talented KPD player.

 

[AlphaSheep]

Never going to say no to speed and upside. Do think we need to start addressing the mid-20s age bracket to have some midfield grunt alongside Ella.

Nah. In a couple of years, they'll all be 25. Let them grow into it.

 

[squashface]

Two Ellas is better than one

 

[AlphaSheep]

I don't know your knowledge of the AFLW players but to me seems well above average for the average BF poster, seems you have some knowledge of pathways or involvement and have come to value your inputs highly.
I can see the rationale for your thoughts, if we get 2 of these 3 targets or even all of them we need a KP player to balance for sure.
Z Wakfer and Cleaver have grown out of site this year and will look to lock down 2 KPD positions going forward for some time.
The future of S McDonald is very uncertian and L Boyd drafted last year is not KP height and probably ends up forward with some more pre-season's under her belt.
Olivia Crane looks a very talented KPD player.

I wrote for The Roar for a couple of years, they pay nothing, just fun (I got to sit in the press box).

Yeah, Zakfer and Cleaver are terrific, Mac's a big question mark, Schilling's pretty good but jury's still out if she can reach the highest level. And Chuck is awesome, of course, but she's a roaming mid-sized, not a big bodied KPD. So another big defender would be useful.

But then, we've still got lots of spots we might like to fill. I'm just thinking that if we grab 3 smalls, a tall with our first pick would be logical, and Crane's the best tall likely to still be on the table.

Unless Mackereth... who's not really a tall, but is a weapon nonetheless. I'd be happy with either.

 

[FatPizza]

Two Ellas is better than one

Try saying Ella Bella Ella 10 times quickly.

 

[Biggie]

It's also worth remembering that the first of her two years at North, she was getting over an ACL she suffered before the season started

When did this occur?

 

[Ilkka Sinisalo]

AFL trade rumours still makes it sound like Skepper is bound for us.

Carlton is trying to contend with a crunch on list spots and trade assets, which has seen the club tell contracted pair Keeley Skepper and Mia Austin to explore their options elsewhere.

Skepper is set for a move to West Coast, while Austin is favouring a trade to Melbourne, though negotiations on both – as well as talks to bring Boileau to the club – have continued to grind away slowly.

The Blues only have picks No.16 and No.34 this year to negotiate for Boileau, having already traded out their future first-round pick with the Kangaroos, but the Crows are unlikely to accept the second of those selections.

Carlton has subsequently approached a host of other clubs to potentially unlock a multi-club trade, which could satisfy Adelaide with a pick to unlock a deal for Boileau ahead of Wednesday's deadline.

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

I wrote for The Roar for a couple of years, they pay nothing, just fun (I got to sit in the press box).

Yeah, Zakfer and Cleaver are terrific, Mac's a big question mark, Schilling's pretty good but jury's still out if she can reach the highest level. And Chuck is awesome, of course, but she's a roaming mid-sized, not a big bodied KPD. So another big defender would be useful.

But then, we've still got lots of spots we might like to fill. I'm just thinking that if we grab 3 smalls, a tall with our first pick would be logical, and Crane's the best tall likely to still be on the table.

Unless Mackereth... who's not really a tall, but is a weapon nonetheless. I'd be happy with either.

I thought Roxy played tall (and physical) this season when swung down back

 

[AlphaSheep]

When did this occur?

Wow, I was certain she'd done her ACL. But looking up now, i can't find any reference, save to a knee injury in her senior year at Claremont, that was never specified as an ACL. My bad.

 

[Livin1989]

The Suns have already swapped Pick 1 for Pick 4 (in a deal with Richmond), on traded Pick 4 to Adelaide for Pick 14 in the Anne Hatchard deal and now moved Pick 14 to Melbourne in exchange for Pick 17 and 27.

They now hold seven of the first 32 picks in the draft - 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27 and 32 - as they look to match bids on five Academy talents rated as first-round prospects.

I mean..

I knew. I knew this was what was happening before the fact, we all did. But to see it layed out like this..... Holy moly. Jesus wept. RIP

 

[MrWoollie]

The Suns have already swapped Pick 1 for Pick 4 (in a deal with Richmond), on traded Pick 4 to Adelaide for Pick 14 in the Anne Hatchard deal and now moved Pick 14 to Melbourne in exchange for Pick 17 and 27.

They now hold seven of the first 32 picks in the draft - 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27 and 32 - as they look to match bids on five Academy talents rated as first-round prospects.

I mean..

I knew. I knew this was what was happening before the fact, we all did. But to see it laid out like this..... Holy moly. Jesus wept. RIP

And I defy anyone to try and tell me that the system isn't broken.

 

[AlphaSheep]

I mean..

I knew. I knew this was what was happening before the fact, we all did. But to see it layed out like this..... Holy moly. Jesus wept. RIP

I think most of the League's prepared to wear it this time, because Gold Coast kinda sucks right now. But if they're still able to do this when they no longer suck, there will be complaints.

Brisbane's got some really good Lions Academy girls coming up in the next few years. Seeing the Lions get handed all of them on a silver platter's going to sting.

Stat I saw recently - only 16% of Victorian Auskick players are girls (Grok told me). So as strong as the AFLW drafts are getting, they're still not THAT strong. If the northern four continue to get loaded like this, after a few years everyone else will be playing for fifth spot.