FOUR teams were officially eliminated as four remained alive in the WAFL Women’s premiership hunt for 2025. The last round of the regular season took place over the weekend and we took note of how the State Academy members performed.

>> WAFLW Round 18: Round review | Player Focus | Team of the Week

West Perth:

#7 Mia Russo (Midfielder)
Stats: 21 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 5 inside 50s

Capping off her top-age season, Russo had a big finish to the WAFLW with a prominent role through the midfield. Her clearance work was superb and she set up numerous goals including ones to Kayla Van Den Heever and Leuca Krmpotic directly from kicks going inside 50 out of stoppages. She worked in tandem well with Strachan and is so strong at ground level to rip the ball away from opponents and feed it out to teammates.

#25 Lexi Strachan (Midfielder/Forward)
Stats: 24 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 1 goal, 1 behind

Strachan was our Player Focus for the week, so that article will feature a full rundown on her performance. Throughout the match she applied great pressure, used her body well both at stoppages and one-on-one and kicked a vital set shot goal on the edge of half-time to put the Falcons back in front among her many highlights.

>> Player Focus: Lexi Strachan

#31 Cara Dziegielewski (Ruck)
Stats: 10 disposals, 2 marks, 8 tackles, 17 hitouts, 5 inside 50s

The bottom-age ruck might not have had a stack of the ball, but the conditions didn’t suit talls. Instead, Dziegielewski’s follow-up work and defensive pressure was a highlight again, often acting as that “fourth midfielder” both after the stoppages and in transition which was quite impressive. Has built towards a strong top-age year, and alongside Strachan will likely get other representative chances before the year is out.

South Fremantle:

#15 Renee Morgan (Midfielder)
Stats: 11 disposals, 3 marks, 7 tackles, 3 inside 50s

While not her biggest game, Morgan still cracked in and put her body on the line time and time again. She took a few strong marks – and a couple of ‘almost’ marks, while applying brilliant pressure. Always putting in 100 per cent effort, Morgan used both sides of her body when required and moved through traffic effectively.

#22 Eva Flynn (Forward/Wing)
Stats: 9 disposals, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s

The explosive left-footer did well coming off a wing to add an extra number at the stoppages at times and then utilise her speed to breakaway. She is not a massive accumulator, but Flynn takes grass and backs herself to get the ball forward and set up potential scoring opportunities.

#31 Marie Polimeno (Wing)
Stats: 8 disposals, 1 mark, 4 inside 50s

Ran hard on a wing in a role she has played since returning back from the national carnival and could be a look ahead to the 2026 season. The bottom-age talent has the capacity to cover the ground well, and is another left-footer who can clear the ball down the line and also get into the right spots to win it via intercept.

#41 Alira Fotu (Forward)
Stats: 5 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 behind

Lacked opportunities in a tough day for tall forwards with her sole behind coming midway through the second term from a long-range attempt. She had a horror bounce when close to goal late in the third term when instead of bouncing up for her to run into goal, Fotu watched as it bounced into the hands of her opponent instead. Showed enough signs in previous weeks to indicate upside and has a decision to make between her basketball and footy.

East Perth:

#3 Lucy Greenwood (Midfielder)
Stats: 24 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s

A big way to finish 2025 with her best performance of the season. She played through midfield and is so slick through traffic, able to dance around would-be tacklers. At times this year she has been a little up and down, but her talent is evident and realistically should be considered in the top 30-odd prospects. Nice skills and great smarts, ticks a lot of boxes for her draft profile.

#20 Charli Bassett (Midfielder/Forward)
Stats: 7 disposals, 7 tackles, 1 inside 50

The bottom-ager has been gaining lots of midfield minutes of late, and really can play in any role. She has a brilliant sidestep to work around opponents and then release by hand well to teammates to set them up. Has upside and is one to note down for next year.

Perth:

#18 Sienna Timmermans (Defender)
Stats: 7 disposals, 6 tackles

A real slog and one that was not ideal for any marking realistically, which meant Timmerman’s impact was dulled in that way. Instead, she applied a lot of pressure at ground level and used her body well one-on-one to bring the ball to ground since she did not get a lot of good chances to mark. Played her role once again.

#34 Addison Opalinski (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 11 disposals, 4 tackles, 2 inside 50s

Rotated between defence and on-ball covering ground exceptionally well. Opalinski has nice athleticism for a tall and though normally able to compete overhead, due to the conditions did most of her best work at ground level. A consistent debut season at WAFLW level.

#37 Mia Carlshausen (Defender)
Stats: 8 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 1 inside 50

The hard-running defender was not afraid to put her body on the line in the wet, and she tried to create some run in transition out of defence. Her efficiency was down given the pressure and lack of time with ball in hand, but Carlshausen continued to dig in throughout the match. Another one to note down for 2026.

#48 Mel Grage (Forward)
Stats: 7 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 goal

Has been a revelation since coming into the state team where she has been a pressure forward who can also be strong overhead for her height. Grage kicked a ripping goal four minutes into the second half off the left that in congestion somehow missed a stack of hands between her and the goals. Otherwise, Grage pushed up to the wing, looked to apply front half pressure and darted back to goal to be an option.

Claremont:

#11 Ella Gilbey (Forward)
Stats: 9 disposals, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 1 goal, 1 behind

A lively talent who again hit the scoreboard with a nice set shot in the third term that came after missing one under pressure on the run not long prior. She was ultra-clean at ground level given the super wet conditions, and with her run, benefited her team by taking valuable metres and putting the ball inside scoring range.

#15 Hannah Seaborn (Forward)
Stats: 5 disposals, 1 tackle, 1 behind

As a strong marking forward, it was not the day for Seaborn to excel so was limited in her impact. She did work hard around the forward 50, with the double bottom-ager having a slight purple patch in the fourth term thanks to a run-down tackle, holding the ball free and then a couple of shots on goal that yielded one behind and one that fell short.

#21 Emma Henderson (Wing/Defender)
Stats: 9 disposals, 4 tackles

Henderson has been a smart addition to the the Tigers lineup this year, often playing off a wing and dropping back when required into defence. She rolled between the positions and found a little bit of the ball, running alongside dangerous Subiaco wing Hayley Corlett for the most part. Henderson’s defensive pressure stood out, with quick hands when required.

#33 Juliet Kelly (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 20 disposals, 2 marks, 11 tackles, 4 inside 50s

Though she didn’t start on-ball throughout the match and was more at the half-forward mark then pushing in around the stoppages, Kelly got her chance to be more of a roaming player who could use her big tank to float wherever was needed. When rotated into the middle she applied fantastic defensive pressure and notched up another game with double-digit tackles, while being clean in the wet.

Subiaco:

#12 Olivia Crane (Defender)
Stats: 7 disposals, 2 marks, 7 tackles

Another player who was not really suited to the conditions, but Crane still mopped up in the back half and was desperate in trying to quell the Claremont attack. She slid across the goalline rushing a ball through at one point, and had her moments in the match. Unfortunately her day ended a little early when smothering a ball on the wing, copped friendly fire from Eva Popovsky and had to be tended to in front of the interchange benches.

#22 Olivia Wolmarans (Forward)
Stats: 10 disposals, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 behind

Found very little of it inside 50 other than a long-range set shot from a tight angle that just missed, so Wolmarans pushed right up the ground to try and get involved. She has a crack and was fantastic defensively for a tall, still taking a couple of good marks but also got in a spoil at half-back. Not a day for her role, but she still looked to assist teammates in any way she could.

#24 Sunni-Quay Peters (Defender)
Stats: 7 disposals, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s

Remained calm and composed in the back 50 despite the overwhelming chances Claremont had. She is a ball hunter when it is in her area, and very competitive one-on-one. Though Peters has spent time on a wing, she was behind the ball and then pushing up to get it inside 50 on a couple of occasions with nice athleticism and determination.

#27 Layla Quinn-Schofield (Forward/Midfielder)
Stats: 21 disposals, 4 marks, 9 tackles, 6 inside 50s

Quinn-Schofield has finished off the 2025 WAFLW season in a blaze of glory, showing off her midfield potential, while also still being that high half-forward. She crashed and bashed her way around the ground applying plenty of pressure to the opposition, while looking to swing onto that deadly left boot. Had a few chances on goal that went wide, but presented and was one of the more prolific players in the match.

Swan Districts:

#5 Carys D’Addario (Midfielder)
Stats: 13 disposals, 1 mark, 14 tackles, 1 inside 50

The conditions made it impossible to get many clean disposals, with D’Addario often having to deal in puddles and thick mud to win the ball. While the dry cleaners would not be happy with her game, D’Addario’s teammates always are, as she is the first one to be on hands and knees shovelling the ball out. While a low disposal count by her lofty standards, she continually locked it up around the stoppages and extracted it when required with an eye to next week.

#14 Ava Stewart (Defender)
Stats: 11 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50

Came across the ball a fair bit in defence where she made her mark early with a big spoil to deny her opposition. Mopping up behind the ball and quelling potential Shark attacks, Stewart continually put her body on the line. Still ironing out some execution areas, but has great athleticism and can match up on a variety of opponents.

#18 Sienna Gerardi (Forward)
Stats: 6 disposals

Returned from injury for her first WAFLW game since Round 10 and it was a tough initiation given the muddy conditions. Still, Gerardi is so clean and when the ball went near her she looked dangerous, but was taking time to adjust to the tempo and will be better for the run.

East Fremantle:

#13 Maya Louvel-Finn (Defender)
Stats: 8 disposals, 1 mark, 5 tackles, 1 inside 50

Louvel-Finn competed well behind the ball and often mopped up under significant pressure. Most of her kicks managed to go to the advantage of her teammates, and she was tasked with a lot of the kick-ins. Louvel-Finn collected a number of intercepts even as high as on the wing and was competitive in the air and at ground level.

#17 Alicia Blizard (Forward/Wing)
Stats: 10 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 inside 50

Got an opportunity up on a wing in a bid to get the National Academy more involved in the action and use her speed to break the lines in transition. The tall forward did manage to get her hands on the ball a bit more, and while not really able to get within scoring range, showed off one of her biggest strengths – defensive pressure – by laying half a dozen tackles in the tight loss.