EVERYONE loves a draft smokey and East Fremantle defender Maya Louvel-Finn is having a year to remember for the Sharks. Having overcame an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the past, and returned via a mix of Rogers Cup and League action last season, the top-age talent has not missed a beat in 2025.

Named in our WAFL Women’s Team of the Week in each of the four rounds, Louvel-Finn’s great balance of traits are on display. With a strong frame and highly competitive attitude, she also has terrific skills and outstanding athleticism, making her an all-round threat. She can play on a variety of opponents, and her performance in Round 4 was the subject of our WAFL Women’s Player Focus.

MAYA LOUVEL-FINN PROFILE

DOB: 20/03/2007
Height: 169cm
Position: Defender
Strengths: Skills, strength, explosiveness, footy IQ, work rate
Improvements: Endurance, continuity

PLAYER FOCUS:

2025 WAFL Women’s – Round 4:
East Fremantle 3.2 (20) def. by Subiaco 4.10 (34)

#13 Maya Louvel-Finn (East Fremantle)
Stats: 20 disposals (80% efficiency, 48% contested), 8 marks (2 contested), 4 tackles, 1 clearance, 1 inside 50, 3 rebound 50s, 98 AFL Fantasy points

FIRST QUARTER

Maya Louvel-Finn started the match at full-back and won her first touch about four minutes in, which came in the form of a hardball win and fired out a handball. She followed up with a strong tackle to lock the ball up in the area as well. A couple of minutes later, Louvel-Finn won a free kick in the back pocket for getting to the ball first and showed the first of many decisions where she was not afraid to switch via the play in the goalsquare.

Working higher up to half-back, Louvel-Finn showed off that burst she has with a nice low kick from half-back to the wing after a clean gather at ground level. Showing her leadership credentials, the 18-year-old directed a switch from half-back and then when she won the ball via a mark, put on the jets to blast past her opponent. Almost intercepting a mark in the 12th minute by getting in the way of the forward, though Louvel-Finn did not pull it down, she shovelled the ball out to a teammate before being tackled.

SECOND QUARTER

What really stood out was the the little things Louvel-Finn did during the match such as an elite follow-up three minutes into the second term after a rare miskick. She flew into the loose ball the opponent had grabbed and laid a huge tackle, and then later on in the match as soon as play on was called when on the mark, ran in a straight line towards the kicker to put pressure on them delivering inside 50.

Clean at ground level, Louvel-Finn continued to mop up the ball at half-back and used it well, with even a kick that went a touch short proving to be effective. Her follow-up work – to assist her teammates obviously came naturally, and she won another hardball get and fired off a handball under pressure. She finished the half by getting first hands to it at half-back and absorbing two tacklers to lock up at the outnumber, then took a kickout at the 16-minute mark and hit a short lateral pass to Leanne Gubbins in the pocket.

THIRD QUARTER

If there were any doubts on her explosiveness, she quickly put those doubts to bed early in the third term when closing in on an opponent in the back pocket to tackle her close to the line and force it out of bounds. She is equally competitive in the air, where when not marking it, Louvel-Finn neutralises the contest and brings the ball to ground. Once there, the young Shark is very clean and is able to dish off to the runner making good decisions with ball in hand.

Another non-negotiable for Louvel-Finn that does not come naturally for other players is where she marked in the back pocket, hit the short chip to a teammate, then followed up immediately to aide with a shepherd so her teammate can play on and gain vital seconds. She took the chance at another switch midway through the quarter, won a few more groundballs and then finished off the term with a mark on the goalline just seconds before the siren sounded.

FOURTH QUARTER

To mix it up, Louvel-Finn was thrown on-ball to start the fourth term, and though she was moved back to defence five minutes later, got her opportunity to go head-to-head with ex-Swan Lisa Steane around the coalface. She won a handball receive but was immediately tackled and then laid a tackle herself on Steane to force another ball-up.

Louvel-Finn’s work rate up and down the ground was impressive, particularly for a player still building her endurance, though when back in defence she was at home with her positioning and skill. She marked in the back pocket and had yet another switch in the sixth minute, then had a rare turnover shortly after close to the boundary. In the 10th minute, she attended a stoppage at half-back, winning a clean handball away and her sole clearance.

Her last couple of plays were instinctive as well, with Louvel-Finn happy to stand up a high ball and cop the contact from behind to clunk the mark. She then turned to hit up a target in the middle and keep it moving. Finally, in the last minute, she pulled in a huge contested mark on the forward side of the wing and put the ball inside 50 as her side desperately tried to claw its way back into the contest late.

FINAL THOUGHTS…

Maya Louvel-Finn is having a ripping season to-date and deserving of far more plaudits than she is perhaps receiving externally. The top-age Shark ticks all the boxes when it comes to her profile with athleticism, power and strength all fantastic, while her skills and vision are also sublime. Composed under pressure and courageous with non-negotiables not every player has, she is quietly going about her business in a big way.

While outside Western Australia she might be considered somewhat of an unknown given her limited exposure over the last couple of years, Louvel-Finn is rated highly internally at East Fremantle and it is easy to see why.

One of those players teammates would love to go into battle with because of her competitive edge and courage, she uses the ball well and can have a high impact-per-possession. Hopefully a few clubs have taken note on the 169cm defender considering her weapons and evident upside with more continuity and a larger endurance base.