STEPPING up in the absence of some quality departed teammates, top-age AFLW Draft prospect Sophie Eaton wasted no time showing why she is one of the classiest players in this year’s draft class. Eaton took the opportunity to go inside for Central District in the opening round of the SANFL Women’s, successfully making her progression from a wing/forward rotation.

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While Eaton is not necessarily known for her inside craft having a lighter body, it is an area that she is looking to build on, with her stoppage smarts and general understanding of the game already elite. She uses the ball so well and has superb vision, with all those traits on display in the Bulldogs’ big win over Glenelg.

SOPHIE EATON PROFILE

DOB: 23/04/2007
Height: 170cm
Position: Midfielder
Strengths: Foot skills, clean hands, footy IQ, vision
Improvements: Contested work, strength

PLAYER FOCUS:

2025 SANFL Women’s – Round 1:
Central District 7.10 (52) defeated Glenelg 3.3 (21)

#12 Sophie Eaton (Central District)
Stats: 25 disposals, 4 marks, 6 tackles, 3 clearances, 6 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 98 AFL Fantasy points

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

FIRST QUARTER

As earmarked leading into the opening round by coach Ben Hunt, Eaton started on-ball and would be amongst the most used combination with Jovanka Zecevic and Caitlen Teague with Shelby Smith in retirement. Her first major touch came at the two-minute mark when she used a lovely sidestep to get around an opponent, wrong foot them and kick deep inside 50 to a contest.

A few minutes later, Eaton’s ultra clean hands were on show as the young Bulldog had an elite gather and despite being off balance and under pressure, still hit a perfectly weighted pass to Lauren Breguet inside 50. Not too long later she found Dakota Williams for a shot on goal as well, and though Central had only kicked three behinds to the first break, Eaton was getting busy with her impact forward of centre.

Aside from those highlight plays, she was bale to win a few other touches, often using quick and clean hands around the stoppage or getting to the outside. Only one of her disposals in the first quarter was a turnover, with Eaton almost always picking the right option at the very least.

SECOND QUARTER

Backing up a really solid first term, Eaton got her hands on the ball two minutes in on the defensive side of the wing and put it forward to a teammate’s advantage. She continued to be ultra clean at ground level, with a one-take approach that allowed her to open up opportunities for her teammates both through midfield and around the ground.

Always switched on, Eaton took a great mark at half-forward in the seventh minute and took another grab a couple of minutes later on the wing. While many players would dump the kick long down the line to the safety of the boundary in the case that their teammate lost a contest, Eaton spotted a target in the corridor and nailed the short pass.

Though Eaton did make a mistake by hand midway through the quarter after a mark at half-back trying to keep the ball moving, she remained vigilant and forced a turnover to win the ball back for her side. To finish off the first half, Eaton won a touch via handball receive, burst forward and produced a pinpooint pass inside 50.

THIRD QUARTER

Eaton’s skill level seemed to go up even another notch in the premiership quarter as the Bulldog youngster turning just about everything she touched into gold. First, the top-ager set up a shot on goal for teammate Alysha Healy after a linebreaking one-two on the wing then at half-back gathered it so cleanly to dish off to Tesharna Maher which resulted in an end-to-end goal to Katelyn Rosenzweig.

Her classy touches would result in a number of score involvements, and while she might have had more touches in the first two quarters, she did not waste it whatsoever. Late in the term, Eaton had the pill at half-back and again rather than letting the clock run down and go to the boundary, looked inside and hit up a target in the middle of the ground to open the fat side.

By the final break, it was evident the game was over, with the Dogs leading by as much as seven goals late in that quarter, and held a 35-point lead at the last change. Eaton was the prime mover through the midfield, with her disposal slicing up the Glenelg defensive zones.

FOURTH QUARTER

While the fourth term was a little more scrappy in general with Glenelg able to stem the bleeding and even cut the final margin to 31 points, Eaton still had a few nice touches to finish off her day. She once again started on-ball though her best work was done midway through the quarter.

In the 12th minute she scooped up a loose ball at speed, and dished off the handball quickly at half-forward. Shortly after she kept the pressure high on the Glenelg defence with a deep kick bouncing towards goal, but the Bays’ defence got back to rush it through and deny Eaton a major.

In her final disposals of the day, Eaton picked up a few successive handballs in a transitional play on the outside, able to pad up some more numbers on her way to a team-high 25 disposals and a standout performance in the red, white and blue in front of home fans.

FINAL THOUGHTS…

Sophie Eaton has the opportunity to step up and be a key midfielder not just at Central District, but for the South Australian state team as well. While there will be others doing the grunt work, Eaton will have a crack, possessing that touch of class and spatial awareness that is often referred to in football circles as mirroring Scott Pendlebury.

While not explosive, Eaton is so quick with her thinking that she can leave opponents in her wake, and that sidestep she uses to get around would-be tacklers buys her extra time for decision making. A Rolls Royce with her playstyle, Eaton is still developing her inside work but she showed she will put in the defensive effort, laying six tackles for the match among her three clearances.

Going forward, Eaton is best utilised as that second possession winner. Given her Central District teammates in Zecevic and Teague are both strong first possession winners, it enables the top-ager to receive the ball and then distribute it effectively both through and away from traffic. It will be fascinating to see how far she can take her game in 2025 as one of the most skilful and exciting players.

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS: 2024 AFLW UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS