ANOTHER season of SANFL Women’s action is just around the corner, and while the league year is a little later than usual, South Australian footy fans have the brand new AAMI Talent League to look forward to starting February 28. As has become an annual tradition for Rookie Me Central, we name our top juniors from the league to keep an eye on for the year ahead with the only criteria being either top-age or younger.

We continue our top 15 players to watch countdown – which will run over the three weeks to finish on the eve of the Talent League season – with Woodville-West Torrens midfielder-forward Julia Faulkner who caught the eye between the SANFLW and AFLW Under 18 Championships.

South Australia Girls, Eagles Women'sMidfielder-Forward

Julia Faulkner

Height: 163cm

Weight: -

DOB: 06-05-2008

Positional Analysis

Faulkner is not big in size – just 161cm – but is tough, clean and smart around the clearances. It enabled her to step on-ball when required – such as when Christina Leuzzi got drafted by the Crows and co-captain Poppy Waterford went down with injury – while also rotating forward to add important pressure in the front half. Her statistics don’t jump off the page, but she’s an underrated player with big potential.

2025 Stats

SANFLW | 10.6 disposals | 1.0 marks | 4.8 tackles | 1.9 clearances | 1.4 inside 50s | 1 goal (10 games)

AFLW U18s | 14.5 disposals | 0.5 marks | 5.5 tackles | 1.3 clearances | 2.3 inside 50s | 1 goal (4 games)

Key Strengths

The Eagles young gun showed plenty of signs for the SANFLW grand finalists throughout the season, and she plays that high half-forward role well given her pressure to lock the ball inside 50, and also to be able to add an extra number around the stoppages. When at clearances, she reads it well, has a nice first few steps, but more often than not, is ultra-clean by hand. She makes good decisions and teams up well with her fellow midfielders.

2026

For Faulkner, this year can be more around building on the traits she has, as her defensive work is superb. She can find the ball at times, but will want to lift those numbers to have sustained impact, and will likely lock her mid-forward role in this year. Though size will always be a question mark as an inside midfielder, Faulkner has the natural footballing traits and great pressure to overcome it.

Summary

Julia Faulkner looms as more of a small forward of the future, and she has the tackling pressure and smarts around goals to add something to any side. She only kicked one goal in each of her two main competitions last season, but she sets up scoring chances for her teammates, and was mostly up the ground, burying herself under packs or shovelling the ball out clearly to others.