IN a unique series for the lead-up to the 2021 AFL Women’s season, Draft Central will look at 10 players who have played under 10 games to watch this year. Whilst it would be easy to pick those who finished high in last year’s Rising Star, or top picks this year, we have opted to look at players who have been around at least two seasons but have only managed to play nine games or less. We continue the countdown at number four with Adelaide’s Chloe Scheer.

The talented forward is the second Crow in our countdown, following on from midfield sensation, Nikki Gore at number seven. Scheer averages a goal a game having booted eight in as many matches, all of which came in the 2019 AFL Women’s season. Unfortunately for Scheer, her ninth game was put on hold after injuring her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the 2019 AFL Women’s Grand Final.

Whilst many remember Erin Phillips‘ ACL injury in that match, Scheer also went down in a bittersweet day for the Crows where they claimed their second flag by defeating Carlton, but lost two unbelievable players to long-term injuries. Scheer is one to watch in 2021, having signed a two-year contract following the 2019 season.

Unfortunately for Scheer, the ACL tear was not the first ACL she had suffered, having done her knee late in the 2017 season. That year she was one of North Adelaide’s best players throughout the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Women’s, and was named in the initial AFL Women’s Under 18s All-Australian squad.

The injury delayed her journey to the AFL, with the teenager then set to miss the 2018 season. Instead being a one-club state, the Crows waited a year for Scheer to recover, then picked her up with selection 37 in the 2018 AFL Women’s National Draft. She rewarded them with a great 2019 season prior to injury striking, and will be hoping to pick up where she left off.

While two ACL injuries is always a cause for concern – on opposite knees – Scheer has the determination and resilience to bounce back and play a crucial role in 2021. She returned to local football last year with Payneham Norwood Union to get match fitness in ahead of the AFL Women’s season this year. Now just under two years since she injured her knee, Scheer is ready to carry on from where she left off and add to her eight games.

A known high-flyer with goal sense and X-factor, Scheer is one of a number of talented Crows who will make their front six the most exciting in the league, and everyone will be hoping the talented youngster can get a clean run at an AFL Women’s career.

Picture credit: Adelaide Crows