UNFORTUNATELY an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear put a line through the talented Olivia Crane‘s bottom-age season, with the Subiaco prospect unable to get out for a home and away WAFLW or national championships match. Despite that fact, what she showed in her double bottom-age season suggests she will be among the top prospects in this year’s draft and is one to watch from the Lions.

OLIVIA CRANE PROFILE

DOB: 08/10/2007
Height: 179cm
Position: Tall Utility
Club: Subiaco

West Australian Female Talent Manager Trent Cooper says:

“Olivia had the ACL last year and we’re not rushing that. Normally you’d try and get back within 12 months. We always said this is her draft year so it’s important to make sure that there’s no lingering affects from that so we’ve just been a bit slow and cautious from that. She’s tracking really well, her change of direction, joining in drills at the moment. She’ll be ready for Subiaco, I don’t think she’ll be ready for Round 1, but just after that. She was ready to have a really big year.”

SUMMARY

Due to her ACL injury, Crane has not played in the WAFL Women’s since Round 16, 2023 where she had a modest nine touches against West Perth. That was her lowest disposal tally of the year, with the incredibly gifted utility amassing double-digits in every other game, including two 20-plus matches and taking three or more marks in nine of her 12 League matches that season.

Having come through the Rogers Cup the year before due to being ineligible to play at League level with the age restrictions, Crane was thrown straight in the deep end as a rebounding defender and flourished. She had her chances up the other end of the field and even got around the ball towards the back end of the season, where she laid 19 tackles across two games.

Crane stepped up from Under 16s representation to get a game at Under 18s level, and racked up 15 disposals, three marks, three tackles and three rebound 50s in a tough loss to South Australia. She learnt plenty from that day, and though her 2024 season did not go to plan, the Subiaco prospect is hard to ignore as a genuine first round prospect in 2025.

It would not be unreasonable to say Western Australia could produce as many as five first round talents in 2025, and Crane is among those names with her safe hands, fantastic defensive pressure and natural ball-winning abilities standing out. She can play on an opponent or run off, judging the feel of the game incredibly well with a damaging left foot. A popular teammate, Crane’s upside is enormous and one of the most exciting players to watch in 2025.