RISING talent Madeleine Scanlon is a player making waves in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) Women’s competition. The 21-year-old running defender has stepped up in 2022 for the Tigers, becoming a dangerous intercept player in the back half of the ground. Strong overhead and possessing good footy smarts to position herself well behind the ball, Scanlon is the type of player who AFLW clubs will view as one with upside.

Right now, Scanlon’s main area of concern is just ironing out her kicking consistency. Her technique itself is fine, with the ball drop and spin okay, but it is more about just pinpointing her passes rather than turning them over going down the ground. She kicks the ball to the right spots – often contests – and looks to open up play through the middle, but a marginal miss by half a metre here or there just lowers her efficiency that bit and opens the door for the opposition.

In saying that, Scanlon has a lot of eye-catching traits that make it easy to see why she is a sought after player, earning an AFLW Draft Combine invite. She has athletic traits – both a burst speed and a vertical jump to pull down marks – as well as enough smarts to be composed with the ball which is what shows that it is more about adjusting her execution that little bit to be a really impactful player. Her offensive traits are fantastic, and while her defensive ones are still areas she can build on – particularly at ground level – Scanlon competes in the air, and has noticeably upped her defensive pressure lately.

Though she only averages 1.7 tackles per game in 2022, Scanlon laid five against Claremont on the weekend, rotating between half-back and the wing. She also picked up a season-high 23 disposals, the most on her team. While Claremont struggled to adapt without key midfielders Ella Smith and Sasha Goranova, Scanlon stepped up to be a key player in the loss, and will remain an important cog in the Tigers’ finals hopes. Though not pre-listed, Scanlon would be considered by an AFLW club for what she could become in a couple of seasons, and that was clear during her Round 17 performance which was our Player Focus for the week.

SEASON SO FAR

Averages: (9 games):

15.9 disposals
9.8 kicks
6.1 handballs
3.6 marks
1.7 tackles
2.1 inside 50s

ROUND 17:

Claremont 1.3 (9) defeated by Subiaco 3.5 (23)

Stats: 23 disposals (15 kicks, 8 handballs), 3 marks, 5 tackles, 3 frees for, 1 free against

QUARTER BY QUARTER:

First Quarter:

Madi Scanlon’s first involvement was not necessarily a clean one, unable to pick it up at half-back then tackled, but from then on, the defender was reliably clean off the bounce. She won it shortly after and handballed to a teammate whilst under pressure, and racked up another handball while being tackled. Scanlon showed off her thumping kick from half-back at the three and a half minute mark, putting it into the middle for a contest, and a few minutes later, received the handball and took a bounce along the wing to thump it to half-forward. All of her main quarter involvements came in that first six minutes of the game.

Second Quarter

It did not take long for Scanlon to get involved after quarter time, winning the ball off hands at half-back in the opening 30 seconds and kicking long down the ground. That was intercepted, but she soon won it back with a great one-on-one mark positioning herself well at the back. Her kick inboard was aimed at being dangerous but just went off hands and Subiaco recovered it. She applied good pressure at half-forward a few minutes later to harass an opponent with the ball and force her to drop it, then won a last touch free kick on the wing to kick to a contest at the top of 50 which Claremont won.

At the 12-minute mark, Scanlon had another purple patch, receiving the handball at half-back and kicking long to the wing, but again was turned over with the Subiaco opponent positioned better and the ball going over her Claremont teammate’s head. She had a couple of clean pickup not long after, and then to cap off the half, competed strongly in the air on the wing to bring the ball to ground.

Third Quarter

In the third term, Scanlon won her first touch at the two-minute mark to handball off the deck in the defensive 50, having moved back to the half-back line after rotating to the wing in the second term. She did mark on the wing at the three minute mark – and delivered a neat short pass – and did so again at half-back a few minutes later but was spoiled by her opponent. At the seven-minute mark she did well to intercept the ball off the deck, sidestepped an opponent and kicked long down the wing in typical fashion.

Scanlon was looking to mop up and find the line in the back pocket without being given deliberate when she tapped it in front of her towards the line, but was able to then get a free kick for a jumper tug. Her kick down the line went to half-back but again Subiaco won the one-on-one for a direct turnover. She gave away a free kick at half-back for going in hard, but her defensive intensity was at least there. Then, at the 13-minute mark won the ball at half-back with great speed and burst away, giving off a quick, effective handball.

Fourth Quarter

Her fourth quarter started with a couple of good one-on-one plays with Subiaco opponent Amy Mulholland. Scanlon laid a great tackle on Mulholland to win a free kick, produced a piercing kick into the middle but just came off hands. The next kick towards her area saw Scanlon pull down a good one-on-one mark against Mulholland, but turned the kick over again. She received a handball moments later and was able to put the ball long down the ground to the wing.

One of her better plays was a lovely clean take off a bounce, fended off an opponent at half-back, took a bounce herself and kicked long to a contest on the wing, which was punched over. Her metres gained was running high, and she continued to compete for the rest of the quarter, going in the air at the 12 and a half minute mark to bring it to ground at half-back, then went to intercept it on the wing in the final 90 seconds, could not quite grab it, but put her body on the line and tried to move her opponent off the ball

Closing Thoughts …

Madi Scanlon is a player with high potential, and the pieces of a puzzle are all there, it is just about fitting them together. She has the athleticism, footy smarts and confidence to back herself out of defence, and the technical skill – even if her efficiency will show a high turnover rate at times – is also evident. If she can pinpoint more of her passes, then she could be a highly damaging player given the amount of metres she already gains for the Tigers. Scanlon is still young and one who has a long future, with a chance of stepping up to the elite level.