Rookie Me Central’s Collaborative 2022 AFL Women’s Top 50 Countdown: #4 Ellie Blackburn
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 4, Western Bulldogs Ellie Blackburn
Ellie Blackburn
League/s: AFLW, Vflw
Season/s: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, S7, 2023
Games [tot]: 72
Goals [tot]: 30
Disposals [avg]: 19.9
Marks [avg]: 3
Tackles [avg]: 4.3
Cont. Poss: 8.4
Uncont. Poss: 10
Clearances: 3.8
Inside 50s: 3.2
Rebound 50s: 1.6
Ellie Blackburn’s one of the most competitive beasts going around in the AFLW competition. She is a tough, midfielder with a strong competitive mindset and a hunger for the ball.
Originally playing for Melbourne in the exhibition series, after she was named as one of the Bulldog’s inaugural marquee players she moved across to the Bulldogs for the final exhibition match and began her Bulldogs’ journey.
She was a member of the Bulldog’s flag win in 2018, and was captain on the day after Katie Brennan got suspended. She has been the captain of the side ever since and her AFLW career has been littered with awards.
Blackburn was a member of the AFLPA’s 22 Under 22 for three years running, and won the club’s inaugural leading goal kicker award in 2016. She was named Players’ Player in 2018, and has finished second in the Bulldog’s Best and Fairest every year she didn’t win it – 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Blackburn produced another stellar year in 2021. She averaged 19.6 disposals a game, which was the most amongst her teammates. She also averaged 9.4 contested disposals a game, which was the highest amongst her teammates. It also showed Blackburn’s nature to find herself on the bottom of packs and at the heart of the contest.
Blackburn also made her third All Australian team to go with her 2017 and 2018 awards. She finished runner-up in the league Best and Fairest, and won the Bulldog’s Best and Fairest for the second time.
Among those who contributed a top 50 to this countdown, there were a wide range of ranks for Ellie Blackburn. Despite this, Blackburn did make everyone’s list.
One person did rank her as low as 20th, but another person ranked her 1st. Most had her somewhere in the middle of their top 10.
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) | ARTICLE
#32 Kerryn Harrington (Carlton) | ARTICLE
#31 Janelle Cuthbertson (Fremantle) | ARTICLE
#30 Emily Bates (Brisbane) | ARTICLE
#29 Katie Brennan (Richmond) | ARTICLE
#28 Gemma Houghton (Fremantle) | ARTICLE
#27 Kate Hore (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#26 Ellie McKenzie (Richmond) | ARTICLE
#25 Ruby Schleicher (Collingwood) | ARTICLE
#24 Ash Riddell (North Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#23 Ally Anderson (Brisbane) | ARTICLE
#22 Brittany Bonnici (Collingwood) | ARTICLE
#21 Darcy Vescio (Carlton) | ARTICLE
#20 Lauren Pearce (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#19 Jaimee Lambert (Collingwood) | ARTICLE
#18 Isabel Huntington (Western Bulldogs) | ARTICLE
#17 Tyla Hanks (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#16 Chelsea Randall (Adelaide) | ARTICLE
#15 Monique Conti (Richmond) | ARTICLE
#14 Kate Lutkins (Brisbane) | ARTICLE
#13 Georgia Patrikios (St Kilda) | ARTICLE
#12 Emma Kearney (North Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#11 Erin Phillips (Adelaide) | ARTICLE
#10 Anne Hatchard (Adelaide) | ARTICLE
#9 Chloe Molloy (Collingwood) | ARTICLE
#8 Karen Paxman (Melbourne) | ARTICLE
#7 Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide) | ARTICLE
#6 Madison Prespakis (Carlton) | ARTICLE
#5 Alyce Parker (GWS) | ARTICLE
#4 Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs)
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