AN ELECTRIC talent out of reigning premiers Glenelg, 16-year-old winger Violet Patterson is a name for Collingwood fans to keep in the back of their minds for the 2024 AFLW Draft. Though still young and only in her debut season at League level, the daughter of Magpies Stephen (96 games) has some incredibly exciting traits to keep an eye out over the coming years.

Though strictly an outside player, Patterson packs a punch with her tackling, adding extra ferocity to her defensive acts, which whilst at times can go against her in the way of free kicks, she keeps attacking it hard. From a draft profile perspective, the main traits that stand out for Patterson are her acceleration, evasion and footy smarts, which are evident in the way she plays.

Patterson has some breakaway speed that can burn off most opponents, and also has that rare ability to turn on a dime and sidestep opponents to get around them. She takes the game on and can think her way out of situations well. Without the ball, Patterson noticeably is able to hold a strong line in the middle of the ground when the play is on the opposite wing, and knows where to stand at a forward stoppage – about 40m out from goal to receive the rushed kick from a defender.

An area for Patterson to work on is definitely her composure and execution by foot. Though on the weekend she hit a couple of great passes to her teammates advantage, when she tends to rush, she can put the ball either too short or too far from the mark. It is not a cause to concern given all the other aspects, and that ironing out will come with time. She has two more seasons in the SANFL Women’s League after 2022 before she is draft-eligible. It will also be an interesting test for the father-daughter combination, with Patterson the first likely prospective AFLW player who is based in a different state – with an AFLW team – compared to the one where her father played.

VIOLET PATTERSON

Height: 170cm
DOB: 09/01/2006
Club: Glenelg
State: South Australia

ROUND 8 VS STURT: (2022 AVE)

Disposals: 17 (11.0)
Marks: 4 (1.1)
Tackles: 5 (2.3)
Inside 50s: 4 (2.3)
Rebound 50s: 3 (1.0)
Goals: 1 (0.1)

QUARTER BY QUARTER VS STURT:

FIRST QUARTER:

Violet Patterson started in her familiar position of the wing, on the interchange side of the ground, a position she would start in for each quarter. The winger got into the game two and a half minutes into the match with a free kick via the last touch rule. Her chip kick to Jess Searle proved effective to half-forward. A couple of minutes later she took a good mark at centre half-back being in the right spot at the right time, but her kick towards Caitlyn Swanson just missed the target. Luckily Swanson laid a tackle on the Sturt opponent to pick it up and was locked up.

After a rest, Patterson returned and kicked her maiden SANFL Women’s goal by sneaking inside 50 to the 35m mark, intercepting the quick kick from the stoppage, ran forward, sidestepped an opponent and then nailed the goal from the top of the goalsquare. A tackle to force a turnover a couple of minutes later rounded out some impressive moments in the first term.

SECOND QUARTER:

Returning to the wing to start the second term, Patterson’s first touch came 90 seconds into the game, with a fantastic effort one-on-one to bump her opponent off the ball as they both headed for the loose all, picking it up cleanly and kicking inside 50. She had a clumsy moment six minutes into the quarter where going back with the flight she caught Ally Ladas high with a stray arm trying to spoil, but checked to make sure her opponent was alright. Ladas missed the set shot.

Later in the term after another break, Patterson went to pick the ball up out of a stoppage and it was knocked out of her hands. At the top of 50 nearing the end of the term, she marked at the top of 50 having identified the space to mark really well, kicking inside 50 cleanly. Despite her good work, the Sturt defence was able to clear the ball away.

THIRD QUARTER:

Coming out after the break and heading to her familiar wing, Patterson won a contested ball a few minutes into the term and kicked inside 50 again. Her work rate up and down the ground was noticeable, particularly in the corridor. After a quiet start overall to the quarter, Patterson again had a break and came back on in the second half, competing well one-on-one and then laying a great tackle on Georgia Bevan to win a free kick.

At the top of the defensive 50, Patterson kicked down the line for a medium distance, but her kick had too much carry and was intercepted by Hannah Prenzler. At the next contest inside the defensive 50, Patterson had a quick one-two by hand with a teammate to assist her teammate clearing the ball from the back 50.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Completing the set of each quarter by starting on the wing, Patterson was clean when she received a flicked handball from a stoppage, took a few steps and hit a pinpoint pass to Sarah Wilton at half-forward. The next involvement at the two-minute mark summed up what Patterson is capable of. In congestion, she read a handball between Sturt players, intercepted it in one grab at speed, evaded an opponent and straightened up to kick inside 50 ut it was just smothered. Luckily her teammates were onto it and it ended in a goal anyway.

Her defensive pressure remained high throughout, laying a couple of massive tackles at both ends, and winning a free kick for one. Unfortunately, Patterson rushed her kick and it landed short of the mark, but her teammate was able to recover well. Her final touch came in the last minute, when she won it inside the defensive 50, sidestepped an opponent and kicked into the middle which was effective enough to a teammate.

CLOSING THOUGHTS …

Violet Patterson is an exciting Under 16s talent who is progressing at the stage exactly expected of a high potential player. She has some traits that help her standout on the football field and not be overawed against bigger-bodied opponents, but also has areas in her game that still need to be ironed out. As a whole, Patterson is shaping as one to watch at the pointier end of the 2024 AFLW Draft but there is plenty of time between now and then.