IN a new exciting collaborative countdown, Rookie Me 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 33, Adelaide Women’s Sarah Allan.

Sarah Allan

Adelaide

League/s: SANFL Women's League, AFLW

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

• Games [tot]: 70

• Disposals [avg]: 9.6

• Marks [avg]: 1.9

• Tackles [avg]: 1.9

• Cont. Poss: 4

• Uncont. Poss: 4.7

• Hitouts: 0.4

• Clearances: 0.3

• Inside 50s: 0.6

• Rebound 50s: 2.3

It might be hard to believe that Allan is a player who has been around since Adelaide’s foundation season, and is a two-time premiership player, but still only 23-years-old as of today. Whilst she turns 24 later this month, Allan has already notched up 40 games, and come from a young player who was able to pinch hit through the ruck, to a reliable defender, and then an outstanding one the last two seasons, with a career-high performance in the back 50 in 2021. Standing at 178cm, Allan has the height to take on the most challenging opponents, and has pieced together consistent seasons.

Drafted with the lowly pick of 122 way back in the Foundation Draft of 2016, Allan has more than proved her value, nominated for the AFL Women’s Rising Star Award in 2018, and become a two-time premiership player and two-time All-Australian. When she headed back to the SANFL Women’s in 2020, she helped lift Central District, and was able to showcase her versatility at state level. This came off the back of her first All-Australian jumper where she was named at full back in the 2020 team. That season she averaged 12.5 disposals and 3.5 marks across her six games for the Crows.

Fast forward 12 months and Allan earned her second consecutive All-Australian blazer, averaging the same amount of touches, but averaging 3.4 rebound 50s, well up on her previous season. By those accolades alone, it is easy to see why she has earned her place inside the AFL Women’s Top 50 countdown. From a Top 50 perspective, Allan featured in six of the eight lists, all ranked between 21st and 40th, with the majority coming in the mid 30s, culminating in her 33rd overall placing.

ROOKIE ME 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) | ARTICLE
#38 Dakota Davidson (Brisbane) | ARTICLE
#37 Meghan McDonald (Geelong) | ARTICLE
#36 Stacey Livingstone (Collingwood) | ARTICLE
#35 Daisy Pearce (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#34 Rebecca Beeson (GWS) | ARTICLE
#33 Sarah Allan (Adelaide)

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Picture credit: AFL Photos

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