A BUMPER deadline day saw 15 players and plenty more picks change hands as the AFLW trade period came to a close. While plenty of deals went down to the wire, a trio of three-club mega trades were completed as big-name experienced players found new homes, and others were left in limbo. A range of clubs spoke to the media immediately after the fact, and we’ve collated their thoughts.

>> AFLW TRADES: Day 1 | Day 2 | Days 3-4 | Day 5 | Day 6

ADELAIDE CROWS

Adelaide was tasked with helping manufacture trades for three players who eventually found new clubs, but the upside is a fresh opportunity to obtain high-end talent via the draft with three first round selections in tow.

Quotes via Head of Women’s Football Phil Harper

“We didn’t want to lose any of the players we’ve lost… in the end I think we’ve come out of it alright with three first round draft picks in this year’s draft, and we get Gold Coast’s first round pick next year… at least this way if we lose good players we get something in return.”

“We’ve had a thing for a while because we’ve been frozen out of three drafts in a row, that we need to try and push forward in the draft, which we did last year… we need to get back into some of that high-end talent, so that was a focus.”

“Eventually a key forward would be handy, more midfield support would be handy, and a running half-back would be handy, and five more young Chelsea Randalls would be good too.”

BRISBANE LIONS

After yet another Grand Final appearance, Brisbane lost a trio of established players but welcomed an exciting youngster in Lily-Rose Williamson and bolstered its draft hand over the next couple of intakes with help from a multi-club trade.

Quotes via Head of Women’s Football Breeanna Brock

“We’ve been able to increase our draft hand from what we started with, so that’s been a positive… we get a few good future picks, especially second-rounders in to help us with our academy kids next year.”

“There’s a lot of spin in [multi-club deals], everyone going ‘hang on, slow down, can you write that down and show us how that all looks?’ just to make sure everyone’s on the same page. There was a fair bit happening there at one stage. I think someone was proposing another 10-club super trade to get lots of different things done, but that didn’t eventuate.”

CARLTON

Carlton was busy on deadline day, continuing to ship out young talent in Mia Austin and Maddison Torpey, but bolstering that age bracket with the addition of Brooke Boileau. The Blues were unable to strike a deal for GWS All-Australian Cambridge McCormick, but had already obtained plenty of experience via Gold Coast pair Lauren Bella and Claudia Whitfort.

Quotes from Head of AFLW Ash Naulty

“We were really inexperienced and young last year and so being able to bring in a couple of those players who have got extensive experience at AFLW level was something we were really keen on doing.”

“Not only additions, but we’ve also been able to hold our first and second round picks in this year’s draft. We’re so excited for Monday night now to be able to go and hit the draft again… to be able to have the opportunity to do that again is really aligned with our strategy.”

COLLINGWOOD

Collingwood was a key player on the final day, part of a three-club trade which saw Mikala Cann become a Bulldog, which helped the Magpies add another first round selection. They turned that into pick 15 during the Lily-Rose Williamson move to Brisbane, although held firm to keep vice-captain Jordyn Allen.

Quotes from Executive GM of Women’s Football Jess Burger

“We went in with a really clear strategy to be aggressive… that involved exploring all options.”

“Jordy is a really quality player, so we’re not surprised the Lions came and had a look, but a real quality player like that is someone who’s really important to our future, particularly as our vice-captain and a quality human who’ll take the club forward. That one didn’t progress any further than Brisbane asking the question.”

“Heading into the period we were looking to secure as many picks in the first two rounds, which we’re really pleased to now have four… securing [picks] five and 15 allows us to really select intentionally at the top-end of the draft.”

“We don’t use the word ‘rebuild’ and we won’t at all. We think we’re in a really good position to develop great young talent but also bring really strong athleticism and professionalism into the group, so we’ve looked to attack multiple different avenues to do so.”

GOLD COAST SUNS

Gold Coast continued to strengthen its position at the draft by preparing to match early bids on several budding academy graduates – a strategy which was pegged from a long way out and drew inspiration from how the Suns’ men’s program managed to maintain its local talent.

Quotes from AFLW Recruiting Officer Thomas Waldron

“I’m really thankful to have great minds at our footy club. Craig Cameron helped me out a lot this trade period… we’ve obviously got Kall Burns in the men’s program as well who was a great sounding board for me. That was really crucial in enabling [us] to build a strategy and execute it.”

“I think everyone’s seen over the last three-four years the talent that’s in this [academy] crop. A lot of them have had outstanding junior careers… we knew this would be a good crop for us to prepare for so it’s been a fair way in the making.”

GWS GIANTS

GWS will lean on its concessions by taking picks two and three into the draft, having also been able to target experienced talent at the trade table. A last minute deal for Tilly Lucas-Rodd capped off the Giants’ haul, though they have one eye to the future with some strong academy talent for 2026.

Quotes from Executive GM of AFLW & Football Operations Alison Zell

“We came in with a focus, holding picks two and three in the draft, that we wanted to see if we could add some experienced AFLW talent to our list.

“[Tilly Lucas-Rodd] was one that came up later at the end of the season and was a little bit unexpected for us. But Tilly is such a quality player… their leadership and experience was something we really wanted to explore.”

“Realistically the first two on our board will be picked by us at picks two and three. We really feel like with our young group our draftees can come in and make an immediate difference.”

“We know the academies across the competition are producing some great talent. We probably haven’t been able to quite get there in the AFLW space just yet, but we also know there’s some quality talent coming through, so we’ll see how they continue to progress.”

NORTH MELBOURNE

North Melbourne couldn’t quite get a deal done for former number one pick Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner, but remains confident of obtaining her services via the draft. The Roos otherwise felt the pinch to retain fringe players, but brought in ruck Maddison Torpey from Carlton late in the piece.

Quote from AFLW List Manager Flynn Loft

“Unfortunately we couldn’t get a deal done [for Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner]. Ultimately we put something forward that we thought was fair, obviously the Dogs thought something different of it… we’re confident that we’ll be walking out of the draft on Monday night with Weston-Turner as a North Melbourne player.”

RICHMOND

Richmond made headlines by trading into Gold Coast’s pick one, which was a move several weeks in the making. The Tigers, still without a coach, sought to add speed and athleticism around the ground, as well as midfield depth by obtaining Dana East and Georgia Stubs via trades.

Quotes from List and Recruiting Manager Trent Moseby

“We worked on [obtaining pick one] for about a month… we just saw it as a really unique opportunity and the player that we rate there really highly so we’re really excited about bringing them in.”

“We feel there’s three standout players in this draft and we just really wanted access to them, so that’s why we [traded from pick four to one].”

“That was evident throughout the year we were probably a step off in that regard [athleticism] so we really needed to address that across the field. We feel bringing ‘Stubsy’ in, Dana East, and now the number one pick as well that we can really bounce back next year.”

SYDNEY SWANS

The Swans were part of a three-club mega trade which saw them acquire key forward Taylor Smith from the Brisbane Lions. It was a deal nutted out throughout the trade period, with Sydney now set to turn its attention to facilitating scenarios involving its academy talent at the draft.

Quotes from AFLW List Manager Phoebe Carter

“We had an immediate list need that we wanted to fill and obviously Taylor’s one of the best key forwards in the competition, so we were really excited to get that done and get her in”

“We were working with Brisbane the whole trade period on getting that done and we were really confident we would get there. It was just a matter of making both sides happy.”

“We were really happy to retain a pick in the first round, that was our goal the whole time. We’re going to work through a whole range of scenarios, including involving our academy talent, before Monday night.”

WESTERN BULLDOGS

The Western Bulldogs held their ground on the Weston-Turner deal, but were able to break through and shake hands with Collingwood to obtain Mikala Cann‘s services as part of a three-club mega trade.

Quotes via AFLW List Manager Dan Fisher

“It’s a real shame for ‘Westo’, we really feel for her. We were open and willing to do a deal for her, unfortunately at no point in time was there anything North Melbourne offered that was something we were willing or able to do.”

“We identified pretty early on a lot of the main assets in [Cann’s] game are something aligned to what we really wanted to add to our midfield mix. Namely that she works really hard contest-to-contest, is a ferocious competitor, strong tackler. We think she’ll add a real steely edge to our midfield mix.”