THE off season in the AFLW always brings many changes for every club. Players retire, are moved on, or are traded. These changes mean there are holes in sides that need to be filled, and players need to step up and fill them. In this series we’re going to take a look at some of the players to watch in 2022 that might fill the holes in their sides.
In today’s inaugural article in the series, we’re taking a look at St Kilda’s Molly McDonald.
Molly McDonald
League/s: AFLW, Vflw, Coates Talent League Girls, AFLW U18 Championships
Season/s: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, S7, 2023, 2024
Games [tot]: 56
Goals [tot]: 15
Disposals [avg]: 11.3
Marks [avg]: 1.8
Tackles [avg]: 3
Cont. Poss: 2.9
Uncont. Poss: 4.7
Clearances: 0.8
Inside 50s: 2.1
Rebound 50s: 1.2
On the injury front, this preseason has been one to forget for the poor Saints. They lost Paige Price to a hip injury, and they’ve lost Tyanna Smith to a season ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. This is on top of potentially losing Georgia Patrikios for the season due to the AFL’s mandate.
The loss of Smith and Patrikios in particular will leave a huge hole in St Kilda’s midfield that will need to be filled quickly. So, which one of their players is going to step up and fill the hole left by the pair?
Enter a potential candidate – Molly McDonald.
Fans might remember McDonald made a bit of history in 2020 as St Kilda’s inaugural goal scorer in the AFLW.
Unfortunately for McDonald, back-to-back quad strains limited her to only five games in 2021. This means she will be looking to come back stronger than ever in 2022.
McDonald is a running machine, who can win plenty of the ball. Over her AFLW career she has averaged around 10 disposals per game, which although isn’t ground breaking is still a solid number. Without Patrikios and Smith around, there will be the room for McDonald to step up and win more of the ball.
With the likes of Kate McCarthy getting older, and Patrikios’ future uncertain, 2022 could be a big year for McDonald. It could be the year she becomes one of the stars of AFLW and sets St Kilda up for success. Only time will tell.
Georgie’s going west after realising dream
EASTERN Ranges star Georgie Brisbane has got a big few months ahead of her, with a move to the other side of the country on the cards after being drafted by Fremantle in last week’s AFL Women’s Draft. But, despite how huge the move is for anyone of any age let alone an 18-year-old, Brisbane […]
Birds of a feather bring quartet to Adelaide
IT IS no secret that Adelaide has been looking to regenerate their list after a preliminary final appearance ended in heartbreak for the third consecutive year. With exceptional stars at the helm and young talent finding its feet, the Crows will look to go again in 2025. The club has regenerated its list through a […]
AFLW Draft: 25 to Watch in 2025
AS SEEN exclusively in the 2024 AFLW Draft Guide, Rookie Me Central published our 25 Players to Watch in 2025 as the attention turns to next year’s draft. The Gold Coast Suns Academy will be a key talking point next year with as many as half a dozen prospects in the top 30, while athletic […]
Paterson excited for new challenges at Port Adelaide
WEST AUSTRALIAN midfielder Lily Paterson will move across the country to join Port Adelaide after being taken with their first pick of the 2024 AFLW Draft. The 18-year-old joins a number of Port Adelaide players who originated in Western Australia, such as Gemma Houghton, Abbey Dowrick and Jasmin Stewart. With players on the list having […]
Effects of the nationalisation of the AFLW Draft: a case study ft. GWS
THE 2024 AFL Women’s Draft was a historic one for the competition, with the first truly national draft taking place. With the way that the draft has been run in the past and the varying strengths of the various state competitions across the country, this change to a truly national draft has obviously some clubs […]
2024 AFLW Draft: Club-by-Club reviews
ANOTHER AFL Women’s Draft is in the books and over the past week, we have reviewed each of the 18 clubs to give an idea for fans into what to expect for next year. In this final article, we recap those articles, along with our overall draft recap, to close another chapter prior to focusing […]
2024 AFLW Draft review: West Coast
WEST Coast capitalised on a truly National AFLW Draft by picking up four players outside of Western Australia. Two Victorians and two South Australians made their way to the blue and gold, with strength and pressure key elements for the Eagles at this year’s AFLW Draft. >> EVERY PICK: National Draft | Recap DRAFT HAUL […]
2024 AFLW Draft review: Sydney
WITH a large gap between its first and second selections, Sydney opted for a trio of familiar faces with its last three picks after grabbing one of the fastest players in the AFLW Draft at Pick 5. >> EVERY PICK: National Draft | Recap DRAFT HAUL National Draft: 5. Zippy Fish55. Amelia Martin58. Caitlin Reid59. […]
2024 AFLW Draft review: St Kilda
AFTER trading out its first round selection on AFLW Trade Deadline Day, St Kilda headed into the AFLW Draft with the three selections, and just one inside the Top 50. They secured an athletic tall out of the Dandenong Stingrays, as well as an ultimate utility, and and ex-Gold Coast Suns top 20 pick. >> […]
