AS SEEN exclusively in the 2024 AFLW Draft Guide, Rookie Me Central published our 25 Players to Watch in 2025 as the attention turns to next year’s draft. The Gold Coast Suns Academy will be a key talking point next year with as many as half a dozen prospects in the top 30, while athletic talls are definitely a feature from the crop.

Jordyn Allen (Eastern Ranges / Vic Metro)
Defender / Wing | 166cm | 12/11/2007

A unique player in many ways compared to the rest of this list, Allen is one of the top outside prospects in the group. One of a number of Eastern Ranges prospects, Allen has developed from being a half-back to a midfielder, but has found her place on a wing. She is a high metres gained player with explosive speed, clean skills and smart decision making capabilities. It will be interesting to see how much inside minutes she gets next year, because she is such a damaging outside talent.

Chloe Baker-West (Calder Cannons / Vic Metro)
Small Utility | 163cm | 02/02/2007

The reigning back-to-back Vic Metro Under 16s MVP, Baker-West has had an interrupted Coates Talent League Girls season due to injury and school football commitments. A natural ball-winner who can easily rack up 30-plus – and sometimes 40-plus – disposals, Baker-West has been deployed on all three lines. She gets into the right spaces, has an elite tank and is strong in the hips to shrug off would-be tacklers. Missed this year’s national championships due to injury but is no stranger to the big occasion.

Dekota Baron (Southport / Suns Academy / Queensland)
Tall Forward | 178cm | 03/01/2007

An athletic, strong key forward who is usually a reliable source of scoring, Baron is a top-end talent who is likely to land in the top five spots. She has always been a strong contested marker, but has developed her first few steps over time to be so potent on the lead. Baron has the capacity to get up around the ball and have a stint in the ruck too, but expect her to be a forward who pinch-hits in the ruck at the top level. One who has the capacity to kick bags of goals, and can be very damaging by foot in the field as well.

Mischa Barwin (Lauderdale / Tasmania)
Forward / Midfielder | 164cm | 04/12/2007

A player who burst onto the scene in the 2024 Coates Talent League Girls season, Barwin has proven herself to be somewhat of an X-factor in the front half of the ground. Often playing that high half-forward role – though capable of rolling into the midfield or playing deeper in attack – Barwin has fantastic evasive skills and smarts to draw free kicks too. She projects as more of a midfielder next year, but the Devils are not short on those, so expect her bursts through there to be a great point of difference.

Priya Bowering (Lauderdale / Tasmania)
Midfielder | 167cm | 02/01/2007

The other Tasmanian in the list, Bowering has long been touted as the Apple Isle’s top prospect for 2025. As strong as they come, Bowering is an old fashioned footballer in many regards in the way that she is a see-ball, get-ball type who can be a primarily first possession winner. The Tasmanian excels around the clearances both off ruck taps and at ground level and has a strong frame to win one-on-one contests wherever she goes. As a secondary position goes, Bowering has also spent time forward.

Chloe Bown (Oakleigh Chargers / Vic Metro)
Midfielder / Forward | 174cm | 20/12/2007

The prototype modern day midfielder, Bown is tall, moves well, has a penetrating left foot and can hit the scoreboard. She can play inside, outside or as a target inside 50 which will have plenty of clubs excited by her possibilities for growth in 2025. Already capped at Under 18s level for Vic Metro, Bown has got better as the season has gone on. She will likely be more of a full-time midfielder who rests forward next year for the Chargers, but is able to impact wherever she plays.

Monique Bessen (Sturt / South Australia)
Midfielder / Forward | 174cm | 05/02/2007

Following in the footsteps of fellow 174cm midfielder/forward out of Sturt in India Rasheed, Bessen can be just as damaging, but in different ways. She has the class, skills and decision making, and though perhaps not racking up as many freakish goals as Rasheed, has an eye-catching athletic profile. Bessen moves well through traffic, is not flustered under pressure and while still developing her consistency at times, when given the chance to be a key player, is able to inflict maximum damage as a distributor.

Evie Cowcher (Peel Thunder / Western Australia)
Tall Defender | 174cm | 03/08/2007

It has been a matter of time for the 2023 WAFLW Rising Star winner, who has come through the Diversity programs representing the Medleys as well as Peel Thunder and Western Australia over the last few years. An incredible intercept marker and booming kick, Cowcher does her best work as a third tall defender who can peel off her opponent and distribute by foot outside the defensive 50. She has had limited minutes as a tall midfielder as well, but reads the play so well in flight she is hard to pass.

Olivia Crane (Subiaco / Western Australia)
Key Defender | 181cm | 08/10/2007

Unfortunately 2024 did not go to plan for Crane who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury earlier this year in the Under 18s clash with the WAFLW All-Stars in preseason. That put a line through the talented state Under 16 skipper’s bottom-age season, but she is quality and was never going to get left off this list. An incredibly smart player who can play on all three lines, her best work is done in defence where her overhead marking and damaging left foot comes to the fore.

Georja Davies (Southport / Suns Academy / Queensland)
Key Position Utility | 183cm | 17/01/2007

The fourth Davies sister set to enter the AFLW behind Giselle, Fleur and Darcie, Georja is perhaps the most unique of the quartet. She started as a forward/ruck but has developed into a midfielder and also spent time behind the ball, which at her size makes her an incredible draft prospect. Her athletic profile is outstanding, and she has been one of the best for Queensland at the 2024 AFLW Under 18 Championships so far. Davies’ ceiling is unlimited.

Sophie Eaton (Central District / South Australia)
Wing / Forward | 170cm | 23/04/2007

A SANFLW premiership player at 16, as well as captaining her state to the AFLW Under 16 Championships title last year all while winning the Croweaters’ MVP, Eaton has quite the CV. Her skills are up there with the best to have come through the pathway, and she bites off those risky kicks as she can usually hit them. Playing primarily forward in 2024, Eaton has plied her craft on a wing for the Croweaters but can go inside as she did for the Under 16s state side last year.

Annabelle Foat (Bond University / Suns Academy / Queensland)
Midfielder | 163cm | 23/04/2007

One addition to the Top 25 to Watch in 2025 is Foat who produced a really consistent bottom-age national carnival where she averaged 19 disposals, four tackles and two clearances per game in a really strong Maroons on-ball group. Though not tall, Foat is fierce, and her season was capped off with a brilliant Under 17 Futures match where she collected 22 disposals, two marks, two tackles, two clearances, two inside inside 50s and two rebound 50s, covering the ground well.

Lucy Greenwood (East Perth / Western Australia)
Small Forward / Midfielder | 162cm | 23/03/2007

An incredibly gifted small forward who gained important midfield minutes both on the inside and on the wing this year for East Perth in the WAFLW, Greenwood was a shining light for the seventh placed Royals. She won her side’s best and fairest, and looked damaging each time she won the ball. Elite agility, incredible smarts and deadly skills are just some of her traits, but her best trait might be her cleanliness at ground level, with Greenwood being a one-touch player making her a rare talent.

Stella Huxtable (Geelong Falcons / Vic Country)
Midfielder / Forward | 170cm | 22/12/2007

There seems to be an abundance of left-footers in this list and Huxtable is yet another one to make the cut. Tall and strong, she is a natural inside midfielder but is so competitive in the air that she competes hard as a forward and can clunk some good grabs inside 50. A powerful kick to match her game style, Huxtable will likely lead the Falcons’ midfield alongside fellow bottom-ager Georgia Tyrrell in 2025 and will further develop areas of her game to become even more well rounded.

Sunny Lappin (Southport / Suns Academy / Queensland)
Forward / Midfielder | 169cm | 28/11/2007

It has happened in the boys’ draft before but next year Lappin will become the first top draft talent to have three clubs she is eligible to join ahead of the draft through both Academy (Gold Coast) and father-daughter (Carlton and St Kilda). The daughter of Matthew, Lappin is a smooth-moving clever footballer who is damaging around goal and finds pockets of space in the front half of the ground. Boasting a slick athletic profile too, Lappin can be a damaging kick going inside 50 as well as finishing off herself.

Eloise Mackereth (Glenelg / South Australia)
Tall Forward / Wing | 173cm | 27/07/2007

If draft prospects were measured on upside, few could match that of Mackereth who has enormous potential for the future. A raw young star with great hands, fantastic recovery skills and smart forward craft, Mackereth is able to kick goals in a multitude of ways. Her kicking inside 50 is a delight and it complements her outstanding vision and execution. For South Australia in the Under 16s Championships last year she also played up on a wing, then kicked four goals in a game. Star in the marking.

Jade McLay (Calder Cannons / Vic Metro)
Tall Utility | 177cm | 01/02/2007

One of the strongest players on the list, McLay is a towering presence who can play on all three lines. Though boasting the height of a key position player, McLay is just as adept in midfield at winning clearances, with a booming kick that can breakdown opposition defensive zone. Her hands overhead are reliable and she competes just as well at ground level. Has had to balance her Cannons commitments with her school football ones, but earned a spot on Vic Metro’s list for the national championships.

Tayla McMillan (Eastern Ranges / Vic Metro)
Midfielder | 161cm | 25/05/2007

McMillan is one of the more complete midfielders in next year’s draft. While her standout traits are her clean hands and skills, the Eastern Ranges onballer is also a fierce tackler and punches well above her weight. A pure midfielder who is so well balanced between her offensive and defensive traits, McMillan works her way around a stoppage well and her release by hand both under pressure and in space by drawing an opponent is sublime. Her overall profile is as well rounded as any.

Madeleine Quinn (UTS Bats / Swans Academy / NSW-ACT)
Ruck | 187cm | 10/02/2007

Quinn is sheer raw potential but has shown enough across the course of 2024 to earn a place on the list by year’s end. She was just outside our 25 in 2025 at the mid-season point, but by the end of the national carnival, the Swans Academy member averaged 9.7 disposals, 17.3 hitouts and 4.3 tackles from her three matches. Similar numbers at Coates Talent League Girls level showed she has some consistency, and with greater endurance, can impact games for longer with some fantastic mobility for a 187cm player.

Mia Russo (West Perth / Western Australia)
Midfielder / Forward | 164cm | 06/08/2007

Last year’s AFLW Under 16s MVP, Russo has quickly staked her claim as the pick of a strong 2025 West Australian crop. Winning back-to-back Rogers Cup best and fairests and then stepping up to League level and holding her place as an impact player up forward and through the midfield, her burst speed and power around the stoppage holds her in good stead. Russo backs her combination of speed and strength to get around players and kick some ripping goals, and is a focal point through the middle.

Ella Stoddart (Gippsland Power / Vic Country)
General Utility | 173cm | 30/01/2007

The ultimate utility player, Stoddart won a Vic Country Under 16s MVP as a defender – and it is where she represented Country against Vic Metro recently – but she has spent more time up forward of late for Gippsland Power. Damaging around goals when able to get onto her trusty left boot, Stoddart can also use her strong frame at stoppages and impact games through the midfield. Good one-on-one overhead and loves to take grass and rack up the metres gained wherever possible.

Ava Usher (Bond University / Suns Academy / Queensland)
Midfielder | 163cm | 11/08/2007

What a player. Usher’s highlights are well renowned with her all-round profile the closest thing to complete that has been seen in a draft prospect yet. She has an elite athletic base that comes from her surf lifesaving, with explosive speed, high endurance and incredible strength to fend-off would-be tacklers. She has a booming kick, great smarts and most impressively, improved on her kicking in a short space of time to go from okay to damaging. The consensus number one pick.

Alannah Welsh (Southport / Suns Academy / Queensland)
General Utility | 170cm | 23/11/2007

There are no shortage of utilities in the draft this year and Welsh is yet another one. She won an Under 16s MVP when able to play as a defender and midfielder, but has also mostly spent time up forward for the Sharks and Suns. With Queensland in 2024, Welsh has played on all three lines and has traits that adapt with her strength and power, smarts and competitive nature all seeping out into her game. Her best position might be unknown, but she is a good field kick and can plug any holes a team has.

Isla Wiencke (Belconnen / Giants Academy / NSW-ACT)
Midfielder / Forward | 174cm | 30/03/2007

The second NSW-ACT player in the 25, Wiencke is a strong and powerful midfielder who can go forward and compete in the air as well. Her variety of ball-winning techniques hold her in good stead as she can be a first or second possession winner, or be ready for a handball receive on the outside and thump it forward. Wiencke’s numbers speak for themselves and she continually one-upped older players and took control at the coalface to be deserving of a spot on the list. Was awarded the Allies’ MVP which spoke for itself.

Olivia Wolmarans (Subiaco / Western Australia)
Key Forward / Ruck | 181cm | 02/09/2007

When dominating at the 2022 Under 16s Championships between West Australian players a couple of years ago, Wolmarans showed traits similar to Amy Franklin. It is an apt comparison due to Wolmarans athleticism despite her height, and a booming kick. She has been a handful in the WAFLW for Subiaco, kicking six goals in her first game this season, and then carried that form through to the national carnival where she earned All-Australian honours. Won MVP for her side in the Under 17 Futures match too.

OTHERS IN THE MIX

It looms as another strong draft in 2025, and should continue to be the case as girls who have played since they were very young, or have crossed over from different sports younger, become the norm. Among those players just outside the above group – by could easily be included – are West Australian Alicia Blizard and South Australian Lily Baxter, while Renee Morgan and Chloe Thorn have potential for upside.

Both twins of Mizuki (National Academy) and Nalu Brothwell (Vic Country hub) out of Dandenong Stingrays came along plenty in 2024 and should improve even further in 2024, while others such as Maggie Johnstone and Abby Hobson (Vic Country) as well as Scarlett Johnson and Josephine Bamford (Vic Metro) are some more names to remember.

Defenders are also a point of difference in next year’s AFLW Draft with Western Jets’ tall Alex McBride-Loane, Northern Territory’s Danika McDonald and Eastern Ranges’ Asher Fearn-Wannan in the group. Queenslander Bronte Parker and dual-code athlete Alira Fotu are further names to remember as a midfielder and forward respectively.