OVER the past two weeks, Rookie Me Central named 10 AFL Women’s players who have played under 10 games to watch in the upcoming Season 7. Though it might be easy to name first or second year players who just have not completed the full 10 games yet, the list is designed for those who have been on lists for at least two seasons, or have had a hiatus over a number of years from first getting on an AFLW list to returning now. Many of the 10 players to watch are at new clubs this season, while others are returning from injury. Here is the full list in alphabetical order:

Kate Bartlett (West Coast)

Not too many players get a second chance at AFL Women’s, let alone a third, but that is exactly what consistent goalkicker Kate Bartlett has done. Not only has she earned a third shot at the big time – with a two-season hiatus in-between, but the forward has earned a second contract with the club she grew up supporting in West Coast. Having now won back-to-back leading goalkicker trophies in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) Women’s competition for Peel Thunder, and collected two premiership trophies, few could argue her stats stack up against the best. Her sheer consistency had her among the best goalkickers outside the AFLW.

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Annise Bradfield (Gold Coast)

The Gold Coast Suns Academy member played at her bottom-age championships in 2019 before COVID-19 put an end to any national carnivals in 2020. Taken with Pick 7 in the AFL Women’s Draft that year, Annise Bradfield came in with plenty of hope for the season ahead, but went down with her knee injury so early in her career. She is a player who could predominantly play forward, but can role through the midfield which is where she played at junior level, standing at 172cm and providing a target. As a December birth, Bradfield only turns 20 later this year, so is still a teenager for the upcoming season.

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Jade De Melo (Port Adelaide)

Jade De Melo is one player on this list that technically spent the one season on an AFLW list, but it has also been four seasons since she last played an elite level match. When De Melo played her last AFLW match, there were eight teams, now there are 18. Adding experience to her side, the now Port player has been able to show she is a class above state level, earning her place back at the top level. Her three goals in the SANFL Women’s Grand Final to help North Adelaide run over the top of Sturt put an exclamation mark on what had been a sensational season for the talented forward.

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Tarni Evans (GWS GIANTS)

Only the second player in the list thus far that has remained at the club that drafted them first, Tarni Evans is one of a number of up and coming talents out of NSW-ACT who represent the GIANTS. Evans played seven games in her debut season of 2021, but was only able to add two more last season, to take her career tally to nine, helping her qualify for the list. Originally taken at Pick 9 in the 2020 AFLW Draft, Evans came out of the Queanbeyan Tigers in AFL Canberra, and represented NSW-ACT, the Eastern Allies and was a member of the AFLW Academy.

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Laura Gardiner (Geelong)

Each player on the 10 under 10 to watch list thus far has had a chance of scenery for Season 7, be it at a new club or as a pre-listed player getting a chance. Geelong midfielder Laura Gardiner bucks that trend, in the sense that she will enter her third season remaining on the Cats list. A natural ball-winner, Gardiner’s total games tally sits at eight matches, having found it difficult to break into the side consistently given it is one area where the Cats have made great strides, particularly when it came to inside ball-winners. In Season 7, Gardiner will be looking to build on her five games from 2022, having had another solid VFLW season under her belt.

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Alexia Hamilton (Sydney)

Lexi Hamilton is a player who right now has played with as many AFL Women’s clubs as she has managed games, but that is set to change. Drafted to the Gold Coast for the 2020 season, then picked up as an injury replacement player for North Melbourne earlier this year, Hamilton has always been down the pecking order in terms of key position talent on those lists. Now at the Swans, she can be a key pillar wherever she players, though the ruck/key forward has been earmarked as a key defender under coach Scott Gowans.

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Courtney Jones (Gold Coast)

Taking three seasons to finally her chance after being picked up in the 2019 AFLW Draft, Courtney Jones burst onto the scene in 2022, playing nine games and slotting eight goals to win Carlton’s leading goalkicker award. As surprising as her out-of-the-blue season being have been, it was just as much of a shock when the 168cm forward announced she would be heading north to go to the Gold Coast.

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Bridie Kennedy (Sydney)

It has been quite the journey for the now 22-year-old Bridie Kennedy. The former Dandenong Stingrays star who shared the 2017 TAC Cup league best and fairest award with Chloe Molloy took a different path to join the Collingwood spearhead at the elite level in Season 7. While Molloy went at Pick 3 to the Pies in the 2017 AFL Women’s Draft, Kennedy had to wait until Pick 36 – the last Victorian selection in that draft – to be picked up by Carlton. The talented athlete made her debut in Round 4 of that season, and held her spot over the final four games.

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Maggie MacLachlan (Port Adelaide)

Maggie MacLachlan is a player who has proven her versatility over many years, predominantly in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) Women’s competition. Having plied her trade with Subiaco, MacLachlan earned an AFLW Draft Combine invite in 2020 with the year being a challenging one as COVID-19 raged across the country. She missed out on being picked up in the 2020 AFLW Draft, but soon MacLachlan would be added as an injury replacement player to the Fremantle Dockers’ list.

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Krstel Petrevski (West Coast)

A 21-year-old talent and former Dee joined the blue and gold for greater opportunities, Krstel Petrevski is one with undeniable talent, but just starved of consistent chances due to the strength of the Melbourne line-up. Originally from Halls Creek in the north of Western Australia, Petrevski joins a long line of incredibly talented footballers from the small town, at the elite level. The midfielder came through the Calder Cannons program, playing the 2019 NAB League Girls season. There, she averaged 10.3 disposals, 2.4 tackles and around an inside 50 and rebound 50 per game for the Cannons, as part of the Calder side that finished runner-up to Northern Knights that season.

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