We take a look at the ATCO WAFLW competition\u2019s best prospects ahead of Monday\u2019s inaugural AFLW Pre-Season Draft.<\/p>\n
Eleven picks are expected to be taken across with competition, with Fremantle and West Coast among the clubs with list spots available.<\/p>\n
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Juliet Kelly (Claremont)<\/p>\n
The Claremont tackling machine continues to per her name in lights after her draft heartbreak of last year.<\/p>\n
Still only 18 years old, the Tigers ATCO WAFLW premiership star is a hard-working two-way midfielder who can rack up the footy and is also sound defensively.<\/p>\n
She broke the competition\u2019s disposal record last year with 48 in a game, while she was 17.<\/p>\n
Kelly is coming off a whopping 36 disposals and 11 tackles to go with a goal in Round 5 and looks ready to go for an AFLW club.<\/p>\n
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Sienna Gerardi (Swan Districts)<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old is a cross-code athlete who excels in both footy and basketball, but has opted to focus on her AFLW dreams this year.<\/p>\n
Gerardi, an exciting First Nations small forward, is known for her pace, silky skills and defensive pressure.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s coming off an exciting display in the unbeaten Swan Districts\u2019 hard-fought win over Perth in Round 5 with 10 disposals, three tackles and a goal.<\/p>\n
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Ella Gilbey (Claremont)<\/p>\n
Gilbey was another to miss out in last year\u2019s AFLW Draft, despite winning a WAFLW premiership at Claremont and testing well at the Draft Combine.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old has only played a couple of games this season due to injury, averaging a goal per game, and has attracted interest of multiple AFLW clubs, with her athletic attributes particularly exciting as a small forward\/winger.<\/p>\n
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Isabella Shannon (Perth)<\/p>\n
Could we see the former St Kilda midfielder get a second chance at the top level?<\/p>\n
Shannon has been a fantastic addition to the WAFLW\u2019s newest team Perth since arriving last season.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old is a ready-made recruit and has put together an excellent season-and-a-bit for the Demons, winning the club\u2019s inaugural fairest-and-best award last year and earning second consecutive State selection last week.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s started 2026 strongly, racking up 25-plus disposals in each of her four appearances.<\/p>\n
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Sienna Timmermans (Perth)<\/p>\n
The Perth key defender was a netballer before crossing codes to play in the ATCO WAFLW and for the AAMI WA Football State 18s last year as an over-ager.<\/p>\n
The now 20-year-old enjoyed a solid AFLW National Under-18s Championship last year, playing crucial roles on the opposition\u2019s best forwards.<\/p>\n
Missed out on getting drafted last year but is no doubt still on the radar of AFLW clubs looking to bolster their defensive stocks.<\/p>\n
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Lucy Greenwood (East Perth)<\/p>\n
Lucy Greenwood is a\u00a0versatile athlete with the ability to play forward, wing or as an inside midfielder.<\/p>\n
Greenwood has been in hot form for the Royals, coming off 21 disposals and a goal against reigning champs Claremont last round.<\/p>\n
Her form was rewarded with Kia WAFLW State Team selection.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old\u00a0has a proven\u00a0track record\u00a0having already been a 2024 AAMI WA Football State Academy member and winning East Perth\u2019s leading goalkicker and Best and Fairest awards in 2024.<\/p>\n
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Jaime Henry (Swan Districts)<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old midfielder couldn\u2019t have done much more to push her case for a long-awaited AFLW berth this season.<\/p>\n
Henry has worked incredibly hard to increase her fitness, shaving nearly two minutes off her 2km time trial PB.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s shown on the field as well, with the ball magnet averaging a competition-high 35 disposals for the unbeaten Black Ducks in the ATCO WAFLW, to go with nine tackles.<\/p>\n
Has been overlooked several times before and is unfortunately no certainty to go this time around but deserves an opportunity.<\/p>\n
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Courtney Lindgren (Subiaco)<\/p>\n
The Subiaco recruit has been an important contributor for the third-placed Lions, who haven\u2019t lost a game since her debut in Round 2.<\/p>\n
The former West Coast key forward is a mature-aged prospect at 24 years old and already has experience at AFLW level after getting picked up from East Perth\u2019s WAFLW program as an injury replacement last year.<\/p>\n
Her time at the Eagles was hampered by a long-term back issue but she\u2019s fully fit again and in the mix for a second chance.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We take a look at the ATCO WAFLW competition\u2019s best prospects ahead of Monday\u2019s inaugural AFLW Pre-Season Draft.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-642019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}