Women’s Footy Rewind: 2017 AFLW Draft
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, we here at Rookie Me Central take you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years.
In today’s edition, we rewind to the 2017 AFLW Draft, the first intake which saw a Rookie Draft held.
Although GWS had earned the number one pick after finishing last in the inaugural AFLW season, it was the Bulldogs who ultimately ended up with the selection after a few trades which saw Alicia Eva land at the Giants, and Jaimee Lambert at the Pies.
After much speculation it was ultimately Isabel Huntington who went at pick one, with Stephanie Cain, Chloe Molloy, Monique Conti and Jodie Hicks rounding out an esteemed top five.
2017 AFLW Draft
| Pick | Club Selecting | Player | Recruited from |
| 1 | Western Bulldogs | Isabel Huntington | Melbourne Uni |
| 2 | Fremantle | Stephanie Cain | Swan Districts |
| 3 | Collingwood | Chloe Molloy | Diamond Creek |
| 4 | Western Bulldogs | Monique Conti | Melbourne Uni |
| 5 | GWS | Jodie Hicks | Belconnen |
| 6 | Melbourne | Eden Zanker | Bendigo Pioneers |
| 7 | Brisbane | Jordan Zanchetta | Yeronga |
| 8 | Adelaide | Jessica Allan | Salisbury |
| 9 | Collingwood | Darcy Guttridge | Cranbourne |
| 10 | Fremantle | Evangeline Gooch | East Fremantle |
| 11 | Western Bulldogs | Jenna Bruton | St Kilda Sharks |
| 12 | Carlton | Georgia Gee | Dandenong Stingrays |
| 13 | Collingwood | Iilish Ross | Murray Bushrangers |
| 14 | Melbourne | Maddy Guerin | Northern Knights |
| 15 | Brisbane | Arianna Clarke | Coolangatta |
| 16 | Adelaide | Jasmyn Hewett | St Mary’s |
| 17 | GWS | Tanya Hetherington | Diamond Creek |
| 18 | Fremantle | Jodie White | Coastal Titans |
| 19 | Western Bulldogs | Daria Bannister | Launceston |
| 20 | Collingwood | Sarah Dargan | Calder Cannons |
| 21 | Collingwood | Kristy Stratton | Box Hill Hawks |
| 22 | Melbourne | Tegan Cunningham | Basketball |
| 23 | Brisbane | Renee Cowan | Yeronga |
| 24 | Adelaide | Eloise Jones | Morphettville Park |
| 25 | GWS | Courtney Gum | Adelaide University |
| 26 | Fremantle | Ashlee Atkins | East Fremantle |
| 27 | Western Bulldogs | Emma Mackie | Box Hill Hawks |
| 28 | Carlton | Sophie Li | Adelaide University |
| 29 | Carlton | Reni Hicks | Diamond Creek |
| 30 | Melbourne | Claudia Whitfort | Surf Life Saving |
| 31 | Brisbane | Kalinda Howarth | Coolangatta |
| 32 | Adelaide | Marijana Rajcic | Norwood |
| 33 | Fremantle | Emily McGuire | Swan Districts |
| 34 | Western Bulldogs | Passed | |
| 35 | Collingwood | Ashleigh Brazill | Collingwood Magpies SSN |
| 36 | Carlton | Bridie Kennedy | Cranbourne/Dandenong Stingrays |
| 37 | Brisbane | Emma Pittman | University of Queensland |
| 38 | Adelaide | Ruth Wallace | Adelaide University |
| 39 | GWS | Phoebe Monahan | UNSW-Eastern Suburbs Stingrays |
| 40 | Fremantle | Alicia Janz | Swan Districts |
| 41 | Brisbane | Ruby Blair | Coolangatta |
| 42 | Adelaide | Rheanne Lugg | Riverina Lions |
| 43 | GWS | Philippa Smyth | Nelson Bay |
| 44 | Fremantle | Leah Mascall | Coastal Titans |
| 45 | Brisbane | Sophie Conway | Zillmere |
| 46 | Adelaide | Passed | |
| 47 | GWS | Cora Staunton | Ireland |
| 48 | Brisbane | Jessy Keeffe | Yeronga |
| 49 | GWS | Passed |
There was also the league’s inaugural Rookie Draft in 2017, with anyone who was either under 21 or had come from a different sport eligible to be picked up in this draft. The AFL had just extended the list sizes ahead of the 2018 season, so three rookies could be drafted to each of the at the time eight AFLW clubs, and could only play if someone on the main list suffered a long term injury.
2017 AFLW Rookie Draft
| Pick | Player | Drafted to | Recruited from |
| 1 | Haneen Zreika | Greater Western Sydney | Auburn Giants |
| 2 | Lisa Webb | Fremantle | Coastal Titans |
| 3 | Naomi Ferres | Western Bulldogs | VU Western Spurs |
| 4 | Holly Whitford | Collingwood | Cranbourne |
| 5 | Tiahna Cochrane | Carlton | Bendigo Thunder |
| 6 | Anna Teague | Melbourne | Geelong Supercats |
| 7 | Gabby Collingwood | Brisbane | University of Queensland |
| 8 | Calista Boyd | Adelaide | Wanderers |
| 9 | Tait Mackrill | Greater Western Sydney | Adelaide University |
| 10 | Jade de Melo | Fremantle | East Fremantle |
| 11 | Bonnie Toogood | Western Bulldogs | Mornington |
| 12 | Katie-Jayne Grieve | Carlton | South Bunbury |
| 13 | Maddie Shevlin | Melbourne | Gungahlin |
| 14 | Molly Ritson | Brisbane | Bond University |
| 15 | Brianna Walling | Adelaide | Morphettville Park |
| 16 | Beatrice Devlyn | Fremantle | South Fremantle |
| 17 | Courtney Webb | Carlton | Launceston |
| 18 | Krystal Scott | Brisbane | Bond University |
| 19 | Tayla McAuliffe* | Fremantle | Swan Districts |
*Tayla McAuliffe was then added to Fremantle’s senior list after Kirby Bentley was moved to the long-term injury list.
Women’s Footy Rewind: Fans Reflect on 2022
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, Rookie Me Central takes you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years. Today’s edition of the Women’s Footy Rewind is a little different – we are hearing from the AFLW […]
Women’s Footy Rewind: Historical Stats Central
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, Rookie Me Central takes you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years. In today’s edition, we look at historical individual stats record holders. These are the players who hold the […]
Women’s Footy Rewind: 2022 Stats Central
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, we here at Rookie Me Central take you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years. In today’s edition, we focus on a stats comparison between the two AFLW seasons in […]
Women’s Footy Rewind: 2017 AFLW Draft
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, we here at Rookie Me Central take you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years. In today’s edition, we rewind to the 2017 AFLW Draft, the first intake which saw a […]
Women’s Footy Rewind: 2017 VFLW Grand Final – the end of an era
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, we here at Rookie Me Central take you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years. In today’s inaugural article, we rewind to 2017, and the end of an era in […]
Women’s Footy Rewind: 2016 AFLW Draft
WITH less women’s footy over the summer months than fans have become used to, we here at Rookie Me Central take you down memory lane and look back at key moments in women’s footy history from the past few years. In today’s inaugural article, we rewind to the very first AFLW Draft, which was held […]
