WESTERN Australia’s best and brightest young stars from the State Academy took to the field for Round 2 of the WAFL Women’s competition with an AFLW Academy returning for her first state league game in 18 months. We took note of how the State Academy members performed across the four games, with all notes the opinion of the individual author.

South Fremantle:

#4 Noa McNaughton (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 10 disposals, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s

Starved of too many opportunities early, she still buzzed around the contest and had a clean pickup late in the first half where she stepped around her opponent at half-back and kicked down the ground. In the third term she started at the centre stoppage and won the first touch via a free kick. She found more of the ball playing through the midfield including a couple of clearances, and showed off her quick hands in close.

#9 Kate Newson (Forward/Ruck)
Stats: 1 disposal, 4 tackles, 17 hitouts

Starting forward and rotating with Keley through the ruck, Newson impacted more when around the ball, finishing with 17 hitouts. She only had the one touch which was a handball under pressure, but used her height at the stoppages to palm the ball down to the midfielders.

#14 Jasmine Bazeley (Forward)
Stats: 1 disposal, 2 tackles

It was a quiet day for Bazeley who only had the one touch, and ran herself into a bit of trouble in the second term. She won a free kick for holding the ball, then tried to run around Eva O’Donnell on the mark and got pinged herself. Has the traits and talent, just developing her craft and consistency.

#15 Renee Morgan (Midfielder)
Stats: 22 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 2 inside 50s

Easily one of, if not the best Bulldog on teh day, Morgan was outstanding around the clinches, winning a stack of contested footy and standing up in tackles to release teammates. She also took a couple of strong marks including a good intercept one midway through the second term, and showed her strength in the last quarter to wrestle the ball off the more experienced Jayme Harken. Morgan is not quick, but she is so strong and powerful and can burst through tackles and take bodies before dishing off.

#19 Zoe Keley (Ruck)
Stats: 5 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 13 hitouts, 1 inside 50

Keley had her moments through the ruck, and though she would get nudged under the ball, she found her fair share of hitouts with 13 for the match, rotating with Newson. Still developing her execution by foot, Keley gained great experience rucking, using her athleticism to win the ball.

#33 Molly O’Hehir (Midfielder)
Stats: 18 disposals, 4 marks, 6 tackles, 6 inside 50s

O’Hehir had another eye-catching game using her speed to burst away from stoppages or weave between opponents. The South Fremantle AFLW Academy member was closely watched by the umpire, involved in nine free kicks – four for and five against – as her fierce tackling was both rewarded and punished at different times. When up and about, O’Hehir is as impressive as any other player, and while her efficiency was down a touch, she still took some strong marks and pumped the ball forward to put pressure on the Claremont defence.

#42 Alira Fotu (Forward)
Stats: 4 disposals, 2 tackles

Making her League debut, the bottom-ager has some tricks, but was largely limited from too many opportunities. Fotu still laid a couple of tackles and got involved when she could, including a punch forward when she was under pressure in a marking contest to put it to space in the last quarter.

Claremont:

#24 Bec Anderson (Forward)
Stats: 3 disposals, 2 tackles, 1 hitout

Anderson’s teammate Anjelique Raison kicked the couple of goals and was the main target inside 50, with the fellow over-age tall looking to use her body in marking contests and provide leads to open up the 50 when required. She had a set shot from 45m on a slight angle that went to the right for a behind during the second term, but a teammate gave away a free kick close to goal so it was no score.

#29 Claudia Wright (Defender)
Stats: 16 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle, 2 inside 50s

The AFLW Academy member returned for her first WAFLW game since the 2022 season and held her own showing her class throughout the game. She reads the ball in flight well, gets into good spots and ran hard off half-back. She is clean with her disposal and is rarely flustered, and is not afraid to go for those tougher kicks. A full season from Wright will be an exciting prospect.

#33 Juliet Kelly (Defender)
Stats: 3 disposals, 1 tackle

With the return of Wright doing the bulk of the rebounding, Kelly was largely quiet with just a few touches, including a couple of nice kicks from defence in the third term. She uses it well and does not need a lot of disposals to do damage.

Subiaco:

#22 Olivia Wolmarans (Forward/Ruck)
Stats: 19 disposals, 3 marks 2 tackles, 1 hitout, 1 inside 50, 1 behind

After six goals in Round 1, Wolmarans found the going much tougher against a determined Maddy Obal who did pretty well on her early to keep her contained. Wolmarans’ work rate up teh ground was noticeable, even having a stint higher up to get her hands on the ball. She did just that, rotating into the ruck for a bit, then playing a kick behind play at times to get involved. Often copping attention from the opposition due to her potential, Wolmarans kept battling along and finished with an impressive 19 disposals showing her talent.

East Fremantle:

#12 Taya Chambers (Defender)
Stats: 12 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle

After missing Round 1, Chambers returned to the Sharks lineup, playing in her familiar defensive position. Her aerial prowess was on display and she took several strong marks, often used as an outlet player to kick down the ground. Chambers got into the right positions to keep the ball moving in transition and was solid across the match.

#21 Tiani Teakle (Forward)
Stats: 3 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50

It was a quiet game from Teakle who only had the three touches and a couple of marks, but she set up a goal to Fish with a lovely kick inside 50. There was plenty of pressure around the ground and inside 50 was no different for the top-age Shark.

#29 Natasha Entwistle (Defender)
Stats: 12 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles

Entwistle was impressive coming out of defence, particularly with her tackling pressure and intercepting. She did well throughout the game, spending time on the taller Wolmarans and holding her own. Entwistle’s work rate – to cover the ground and push up to the wing – was impressive, and she does everything she can to win the ball back for her side. Her run-down tackle seven minutes into the fourth term was a highlight.

#38 Zippy Fish (Midfielder)
Stats: 20 disposals, 5 marks, 3 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal

It was another all-round strong game from Fish who just did what she always does and won the ball showing her class. She kicked a great goal while resting forward, finding some space and running in to kick the major late in the first term. Fish zipped and zagged around the stoppages, won a number of clearances and hit tough kicks consistency. She even used the opposite foot going inside 50 at one stage and was always prominent with ball-in-hand.

Swan Districts:

#5 Carys D’Addario (Midfielder)
Stats: 24 disposals, 4 marks, 6 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 3 behinds

The bottom-age midfielder produced a powerful performance on the inside, winning a stack of the ball and clearances from the coalface. She might not have the explosive speed, but she breaks through tackles well and is able to give off handballs to teammates. She will be the focus of our WAFLW Player Focus so her performance will be detailed in that article.

Peel Thunder:

#2 Evie Cowcher (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 7 disposals, 2 marks, 5 tackles, 1 inside 50

After starting in defence, Cowcher played further up the field and spent time in midfield at times. It was a quieter game from a production perspective for Cowcher, but often she wins a lot of touches from kickouts or being the switch option in defence. When she had the ball she was effective, looking for the switch and also applied plenty of defensive pressure, even getting into a bit of a scrap late in the third term with Indiana West.

#4 Holly Britton (Midfielder)
Stats: 16 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle, 2 inside 50s

It was one of Britton’s best games, standing up for more midfield minutes in her preferred on-ball role. The top-ager was fierce on the inside and even though she was only recorded for one tackle, put her body on the line time nad time again. Sometimes her kicks went a little low when rushing, but with time she used it well, and was clean by hand. Her inside work was strong.

#6 Jorja Haines (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 13 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 8 inside 50s

Getting back to her explosive best, Haines showed her midfield potential in the second quarter onwards, having a number of impressive clearances bursting away and kicking forward. She racked up eight inside 50s to go with her 13 disposals, and looked damaging each time she won it. Haines is still working her way back into footy after her season-ending ankle injury last year, but she knows her way around the contest.

#8 Dakota Sexton (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 11 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50

Playing in defence, Sexton had a number of nice moments, usually one-on-one or putting her body on the line. She laid a great tackle to save a potential goal at one stage and cleared the ball from the defensive 50, having spent time through the midfield and also taking a strong one-on-one mark at centre half-forward earlier in the quarter.

East Perth:

#3 Lucy Greenwood (Forward)
Stats: 6 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle, 2 inside 50s

Greenwood played deep forward for the most part so lacked opportunities, but when she wins it, she screams X-Factor. Her clean hands at ground level was a feature of her game, but she is strong for a smaller player and works hard to get back on defence. Late in the third term she took a lovely mark in the middle of the ground, and was able to turn and pinpoint a pass to a teammate cleanly.

West Perth:

#1 Megan Norbury (Wing)
Stats: 7 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50

Norbury worked hard up and down the ground throughout the game without much reward, having a quieter production game compared to the week before, but still got into ball-winning positions. She ran between the arcs and early on did well to spoil a marking contest, bring it ot ground and then lay a tackle.

#7 Mia Russo (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 13 disposals, 8 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 1 behind

The AFLW Under 16s MVP predominantly played forward with some midfield minutes and provided the perfect balance of offensive and defensive pressure. She only kicked one behind herself but had some score assists to teammates going inside 50, including a couple to Erin O’Brien who unfortunately missed the set shots. Still, she looked dangerous, and had quick hands when she won it, hungry for the ball in the front half of the ground.