SECOND-year coach Martha Cantwell liked what she saw in the backend of the 2023 Coates Talent League Girls season from her Sandringham Dragons squad, and that understanding and cohesion has carried over to 2024. With a couple of top prospects and a number of players showing promise for the the future, we spoke to Cantwell about this year’s Dragons’ squad the Preseason Testing Day.

TOP PROSPECTS

Sophie McKay (Midfielder)
27/04/2006 | 168cm

An outstanding midfielder who also spent time as a forward last season, McKay will have plenty of Carlton fans excited for the future. The sister of Abbie is even more readymade than her talented sister, having won the MVP at the Under 17 Futures match last season. With Vic Metro representation under her belt as a bottom-ager, the cool, calm and collected hard nut ticks a lot of boxes and looms as a potential top 10 prospect.

Martha Cantwell says: “Soph is such an excellent player. In terms of her influence, everything that she does is how she drives and leads the team. Her character the way she can get up and about, her energy, she reads our group really well in terms of understanding when we’re down and we need a bit of a boost.

“She just has that personality to be able to get around the girls and get them going on gameday. Part of that is through her performance, she just knows when to stand up and she can just make things happen. The girls look up to her, they admire her skills and her ability, so yeah she’s got a huge influence over our group and really looking forward to seeing what she can do with our midfield group.”

Daisy Flockart (Midfielder/Utility)
23/02/2006 | 179cm

Classy with a capital ‘C’, Flockart impressed last season as a balanced midfielder/winger showing capacity to win the ball on both sides of midfield. She popped up regularly to hit the scoreboard or set others up, and with a great athletic ability and impressive versatility, Flockhart is a similar prospect to Essendon draftee and ex-Dragon Emily Gough, with even more football experience.

Martha Cantwell says: “Dais has had an excellent preseason, just in terms of her learnings and how she’s going about her football as a whole. She’ll be playing through the midfield at this stage for us but she’s such a dynamic player that we imagine she’ll play across different areas of the ground. Likely to go forward at this stage, but again she’s so versatile and in terms of her athletic ability and the height that she has, she can essentially be used anywhere around the ground.

OTHERS TO WATCH

Martha Cantwell says: “There’s definitely a few, our girls have had an excellent preseason. I’d probably say an Olive McLean has really developed. She played as a small forward last year as a 17-year-old, but her growth over this preseason has been huge and she’ll; be really pushing for a midfield role with us. Very clean, very clever, very smart in front of goals, I’ll be looking forward to seeing what she can do.

“Another one is Scout Howden. Scout for us had an interrupted year for us, wasn’t able to play a lot of footy. She’s had a pretty decent preseason, has a beautiful kick and she’s coming at the moment and looking forward to seeing what she can do. She’ll mostly play out on the wing and split forward at times, just looking forward to Scout being able to play footy just for her sake.”

2024 GOALS

Martha Cantwell says: “There’s plenty. Depending on what platform we are talking about. In terms of our coaching goals, our goals for our players, we don’t put numbers on anything, our biggest thing is just continuous growth. Obviously we have KPIs and measurements within what that looks like, but our biggest thing is to ensure that our girls can stay as fit and healthy as possible, enjoy playing their footy and go out there and showcase their skills which is what’s most important for us.”

ROUND 1

Round 1: vs. Eastern Ranges | Saturday, April 6 @ RSEA Park

Martha Cantwell says: “They’re (Eastern Ranges) an excellent side and they’ll be a tough competition and I just think it will be a really good opportunity for us to see where we’re at, how we’ve gone with our preseason, and where we need to keep working towards. That’s just only Round 1, but we are feeling we are ready as a unit in terms of our understanding, our education and our connection so it’s going to be a great opportunity and a lot of fun starting with a great team like that.”