TWO OF the most exciting prospects from their respective draft crops went head-to-head in Round 3 of the Talent League Girls at Brighton Homes Arena, with Brisbane Lions Academy’s Ameleia Murray and Sydney Swans Academy’s Charlotte Tidemann producing contrasting but compelling individual performances in what was a nice come-from-behind win by the Lions Academy.

>> AFLW DRAFT Q&A: Charlotte Tidemann (Swans Academy)

We take a look at both players, their backgrounds and how they shaped up against each other on the day, with Murray spending time in each third, while Tidemann was purely a running defender for that match despite having midfield minutes in recent times.

STATISTICS

STRENGTHS

Ameleia Murray

+ Work rate
+ Football IQ
+ Reading the play
+ Aerial ability
+ Versatility
+ Skills

Murray’s football IQ is what sets her apart. The Lions Academy bottom-ager has an uncanny ability to be where the ball is going rather than where it has been — evidenced by her 11 marks, a remarkable return for a 163cm player operating across the ground. Her ability to leap and compete against taller opponents was on show all day, headlined by a great mark over Tidemann inside 50 late in the third term.

But the more telling moments were the quieter ones — a clever tap to a teammate when a ball bounced awkwardly, working in front of her opponent to bring a contested ball to ground, switching play perfectly to Ferguson after winning a free kick with a strong tackle. She covered every zone of the ground across the four quarters and finished the game with a composed set shot from 40 metres to cap a performance that gets better the more closely you watch it.

Charlotte Tidemann

+ Explosiveness
+ Dual-sided
+ Run and carry
+ Composure under pressure
+ Outside game
+ Skills

Tidemann’s athleticism is her defining asset — the winner of the NSW/ACT agility test at preseason testing, she was the Swans’ most reliable defensive weapon all day, racking up six rebound 50s as a player who consistently found the ball in defensive positions and drove it forward with pace.

Her penetrating kick was on show throughout — a pinpoint 45-degree pass in the fourth term and a thumping long kick-in from the goalsquare that led directly to a Swans goal in the third term were the highlights.

The National Academy member is working on showing her inside game to go with her natural outside qualities, and her composure when dispossessed or under immediate pressure was noteworthy — she rarely gave away free kicks and kept moving the ball cleanly.

IMPROVEMENTS

Ameleia Murray

– Strength
– Can run herself into trouble

There were moments where Murray was caught in traffic and the disposal didn’t come off — a dropped ball from a half-smothered kick in the first term and a handball that was intercepted late in the final quarter were the outliers in an otherwise excellent day. At 163cm she is also occasionally muscled out of contests at the next level up, though her timing and IQ compensate significantly. At times her outstanding composure actually sees her hold off to the point others pressure her because she refuses to rush a bad decision and it can lead her to run into trouble. The physical tools to match that football intelligence are still developing, and that combination will be the gap that matters when she becomes eligible in 2027.

Charlotte Tidemann

– Composure at speed
– Strength

At times Tidemann’s speed worked against her – slipping through a couple of handballs and overrunning the ball when charging into contests. She noted herself in her Q&A that “at times her speed can force her to rush a little,” and it showed in moments where an extra split second would have produced a better outcome. Her tackling numbers (two for the game and a few that were broken) also reflect a player who is still developing her contested defensive pressure alongside her natural outside game. She has spent more time on-ball in recent months, with that inside dimension is the clear development path.

STYLES OF PLAY

Murray is the complete small defender/midfielder — a player who never stays in one zone long enough for opponents to get comfortable. She started in defence, shifted on-ball, pushed forward, and was back in defence again within a single quarter on multiple occasions, and every time she arrived somewhere she looked like she belonged.

Her best football came in the second half when she spent more time in the middle — winning clearances, switching play beautifully, and setting up two goals in the final term with a lovely switch across the middle and a key tap-out to Zoe Petrides that led directly to a Sienna Croad major. The goal to finish the game – taking a mark from a clearance 40 metres out, playing on for distance, and slotting it – was the perfect punctuation mark on a 29-disposal, 11-mark display.

Tidemann did the bulk of her work in defence and was the Swans’ most important ball-mover all day. Her six rebound 50s reflected how often she was the circuit-breaker when Lions pressure built inside Swans’ defensive 50, and her third-quarter kick-out that led directly to an Ava Horneman goal — taking a bounce, thumping it into the centre circle and finding the right teammate — showed the impact she can have on scoring chains when given time and space.

She was direct and efficient in everything she did, and her run-and-carry off the half-back flank remained her most reliable weapon. The late third-quarter moment — pressuring Murray into a rushed handball after being beaten for a mark — summed up her defensive tenacity when her team needed it.

SUMMARY

Murray’s 29 disposals, 11 marks and a classy late goal make this one of her most complete performances to date, and further solidify her position as one of the the standout 2027 AFLW Draft prospects in the competition. At just 16, the Lions Academy bottom-ager is operating at a level that would make her draftable right now – the ground coverage, the IQ and the aerial ability are already elite. There is still physical development ahead of her, but the trajectory is unmistakable.

Tidemann’s 26 disposals and six rebound 50s in a team that was outplayed across most of the ground reflected a player who keeps doing her job regardless of the team context around her. The Swans’ lead prospect for 2026 showed the reliability and composure that have made her a National Academy member, and there is still more to come as her inside game continues to develop through this season.

Two players heading in different directions on the draft clock – but on the weekend, both gave AFLW clubs plenty to think about.