AFLW 23 Under 23: #17 Jess Fitzgerald
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list is completely subjective, the opinion is that of the individual author.
#17 Jessica Fitzgerald (Western Bulldogs)
DOB: 08/03/2002
Height: 163cm
Position: Midfielder
Games: 30
One of a number of Northern Knights premiership players who went high in the 2020 AFLW Draft, the second pick that year came off the back of a strong junior career. Though her top-age year was cut short due to the global pandemic, Fitzgerald showed enough during her bottom-age campaign – which included a best on ground performance in the Northern Knights’ premiership – to suggest she was a top-end talent.
Over the past three seasons, Fitzgerald has booted seven goals from 30 games in the red, white and blue, and become a key member of the Western Bulldogs’ lineup. It took her just two games to earn a Rising Star nomination and averaged 10 disposals in her first season. In the two seasons last year, Fitzgerald lifted her averages, most notably around the clearances in Season 7 which took her game to another level.
SEASON 7 KEY STATS:
Games: 11
Disposals: 14.5
Disposal Efficiency: 64.8
Marks: 1.6
Tackles: 4.3
Clearances: 3.0
Metres Gained: 216.1
Inside 50s: 2.2
Rebound 50s: 1.2
Score involvements: 1.7
Time of Ground %: 73.9
Fitzgerald featured in all 11 of the Western Bulldogs’ matches in Season 7. Most notable, she spent more time on-ball after rotating between midfield and attack previously. As such, her clearance numbers went from 1.7 per game to 3.0 per match across Season 6 to Season 7. It also enabled her to use her power and gain more metres, with a 50-metre per game average boot from the most recent season.
Despite spending more time on the inside , Fitzgerald still maintained a strong 64.8 per cent disposal efficiency. The young gun his a personal best in Round 6 against the Cats, where she collected 24 disposals and ran at 75 per cent efficiency. She also picked up a whopping nine clearances and had 561 metres gained in by far the best game of her career.
Her consistency as a whole picked up, not registering a single-digit disposal game all season, and recorded multiple tackles in every game. Since moving from forward to midfield – which occurred in Round 3, Fitzgerald notched up multiple clearances in all bar one match. In total, she became a fully fletched midfielder who still found space around the ground to impact.
LOOKING AHEAD
Jess Fitzgerald is still only 21 years-old and her move into the middle has enabled others to be freed up around the ground. She has shown her ability to win clearances and her own ball, as well as run hard and find the pill on the outside. Still building up areas of her game even further, Fitzgerald is a talent to watch for the future.
AFLW 23 Under 23: #1 Georgie Prespakis
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
AFLW 23 Under 23: #2 Charlie Rowbottom
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
AFLW 23 Under 23: #3 Mimi Hill
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
AFLW 23 Under 23: #4 Georgia Patrikios
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
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OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
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OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
AFLW 23 Under 23: #7 Hannah Ewings
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
AFLW 23 Under 23: #8 Bella Lewis
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
AFLW 23 Under 23: #9 Jasmine Fleming
OVER the next three weeks, Rookie Me Central will be counting down our 23 Players Under 23 years of age to watch in the upcoming 2023 season. The criteria is the player must be born in 2001 or later, and must have played at least one AFL Women’s match in Season 7. As the list […]
