IN an exciting new collaborative countdown, Draft Central has teamed up with other independent media organisations to bring a 2022 AFL Women’s Top 50 Countdown. Every weekday from now until December 17, a new player will be named starting from 50th down to 1st, stemming from a combined eight Top 50 submissions. Among those who submitted Top 50s include Siren Sport‘s Gemma Bastiani, Women’s Australian Rules Football (WARF) Radio‘s Peter Holden, and a combined Outer Sanctum team’s Top 50.

Today we continue our countdown with number 39, North Melbourne Women’s Emma King.

Emma King

Kangaroos

League/s: AFLW, Vflw

Season/s: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, S7, 2023, 2024

• Games [tot]: 74

• Goals [tot]: 40

• Disposals [avg]: 7.7

• Marks [avg]: 2.1

• Tackles [avg]: 3.1

• Cont. Poss: 4.2

• Uncont. Poss: 3.1

• Hitouts: 15.3

• Clearances: 1.1

• Inside 50s: 1.5

• Rebound 50s: 0.4

The transformation of Emma King over her AFL Women’s journey has been fascinating. The West Australian was tipped to be an early sensation with Collingwood, plucked out as a Marquee player in 2016 to lead the side’s ruck division. She was regarded as the number one ruck in the country, having also been picked first back in 2015 for the Western Bulldogs-Melbourne exhibition all-star match. She had a sensational start through the ruck, averaging a whopping 28.4 hitouts in her first season with the Magpies, but struggled more in her second year.

With North Melbourne entering the league, King was one of a number of Magpies who flew the coop, and was immediately handed a variation of her ruck role, spending more time forward. She was a revelation, booting eight goals in seven games in the Roos’ inaugural season, and whilst her season in 2020 was similar to her second at the Magpies where she dropped off al little, she picked up again in 2021, where she was able to have more influence through the ruck, averaging 19.4 hitouts and still slotting six goals in 10 games. Her versatility is what helps her stand out, and towering at around 186cm, she can really impact a game be it in the middle or down forward. When she is running hot, she is hard to stop.

King made it onto six of the eight lists – the most of any player in the countdown thus far – with the ratings coming between 30th and 42nd – which is how she has ended up at an impressive 39th overall.

DRAFT CENTRAL’S 2022 AFL WOMEN’S TOP 50

#50 Ash Brazill(Collingwood) | ARTICLE
#49 Tayla Harris (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#48 Courtney Hodder (Brisbane) | ARTICLE
#47 Eden Zanker (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#46 Kirsty Lamb (Western Bulldogs) | ARTICLE
#45 Tyanna Smith (St Kilda) | ARTICLE
#44 Breanna Koenen (Brisbane) | ARTICLE
#43 Dana Hooker (West Coast) | ARTICLE
#42 Georgie Prespakis (Geelong) | ARTICLE
#41 Breann Moody (Carlton) | ARTICLE
#40 Hayley Miller (Fremantle) | ARTICLE
#39 Emma King (North Melbourne)

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Picture credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images via AFL Photos

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