THE 2026 AFLW Preseason Draft on Saturday, May 4 represents one last chance for those who missed out last October to hear their name called. Across the country, players who previously nominated for the AFLW Draft but missed out will be hoping for a recall.

New South Wales has a genuine cluster in the conversation. Between the Sydney Swans Academy and GWS Giants Academy, five prospects stand out as players AFLW clubs should be weighing up — each with a different story for why they’re still available, and each with a compelling case for why that should change on May 4.

SYDNEY SWANS ACADEMY

Amaia Wain
Ruck | 180cm | 31/08/2007

There are rucks who win the ball and rucks who win the right ball. Wain does both. The 180cm over-ager has been the most compelling ruck prospect in the Swans Academy program for two years running, and her 2026 Talent League campaign has only reinforced that billing. In Round 4 against Tasmania, she dominated with 34 hitouts while also taking intercept marks, winning clearances, applying four tackles and kicking a goal – the kind of complete ruck performance that covers every base on a recruiter’s checklist.

What sets Wain apart from her contemporaries is her athleticism in the air. A running vertical jump of 74cm at the NSW-ACT Preseason Testing – second only to record-breaker Morgan Stevens – is an extraordinary achievement, and explains how she simply leaps over opponents to take first hands at taps. Her Physical Performance Rating (PPR) of 85.9 was equal best in her state alongside Charlotte Tidemann and Darcie Prosser-Shaw, confirming her physical profile is as elite as the football suggests.

The ball use from the ruck has developed considerably, and the decisive quality of her disposal is a clear improvement from twelve months ago where it was a clear fundamental weakness. Fast forward to 2026, and her accuracy is getting closer to the same effectiveness as her penetration. Averaging 16.0 disposals, 3.0 marks, 2.7 tackles and 28.3 hitouts in the Talent League shows that improvement which has come thanks to hard work over the off-season and also a big year with the UNSW-ES Bulldogs last season in the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division.

Why she was overlooked: A raw and developing type who had limited exposure outside New South Wales, and while Wain’s athletic ceiling was evident, her football output in her top-age season hadn’t fully caught up with her physical tools at the time.

Why she’s a chance now: The football has caught up. Dominant hitout numbers, four tackles, intercept marks and a goal from centre stoppages – the complete ruck game is increasingly on display. Any club seeking a high-ceiling ruck should have her name at the top of the list.

Lila Micheletti
Wing/Forward | 170cm | 07/10/2007

Micheletti brings something specific to a wing role that is genuinely hard to replicate: the combination of disciplined positioning, fierce physical pressure and the football sense to turn intercepts into goal assists in a single sequence. In 2026, Micheletti has improved her consistency and is just as good defensively as she is offensively, linking up well and setting up scoring chains on the outside with an average of 14.3 disposals, 3.0 marks, 3.0 tackles and 2.0 inside 50s for the Swans Academy this year.

She is a connector and a pressurer. A memorable specky at half-back in the Summer Series showed her instinct to attack the ball, and her ability to link effectively on the outside when her side needs composure has been a recurring feature. She is not a player who will headline a stat sheet. She is a player who will make the wing a harder place for opponents to operate, and who consistently puts the ball in the right spot going forward.

Why she was overlooked: Not a massive accumulator who was a bit inconsistent, Micheletti’s role-player qualities made it easy to overlook her next to the headline names – three players went first round. The relative ‘hidden’ factor of Northern Academy players – particularly from New South Wales – also didn’t help the cause.

Why she’s a chance now: Physical wing pressure, consistent output across the season and a clear role identity – those are traits clubs value. At 170cm with her engine and tackling intensity, she is a readymade senior wing.

Lucinda Watson
Midfielder/Forward | 161cm | 25/11/2007

Watson is perhaps the most underrated over-ager in the NSW group. Her football knowledge and reading of the game are outstanding for her level – she gets into good spots before the ball arrives, wins it, and distributes cleanly by hand or foot. Her best work involves lowering the eyes and delivering neat passes to forwards on the lead, or sidestepping an opponent and opening up angles with 45-degree kicks.

In the Summer Series opener she kicked a classy snap in the second term, immediately hit up Parsons in the corridor from the wing and then pushed to half-forward to mark the next kick – three touches that reflected all of her best qualities in one flowing passage.

At 161cm, building strength is the ongoing physical project, while also having question marks around the physical profile. The explosiveness out of congestion is an area to develop. But in a football sense, Watson is further advanced than her profile suggests.

Why she was overlooked: Height and a lack of physical explosiveness in a draft pool that tends to prioritise physical markers placed her outside the bracket despite quality football.

Why she’s a chance now: Football IQ, clean skills and the ability to connect lines are draftable traits, and clubs willing to look beyond the physical profile will find a player who can contribute at senior level quickly.

Grace Parsons
Forward/Ruck | 180cm | 10/12/2007

Parsons is the kind of tall forward who makes life genuinely uncomfortable inside 50, and her 2026 season has been a reminder of exactly why she earned a NSW State Combine invitation in 2025. Three goals in Round 2 against the Suns Academy was the standout performance of her over-age campaign, with four goals across three games in the Talent League so far, while her mobility for 180cm makes her a different proposition from most key forwards available.

Her field kicking is what elevates her beyond a purely aerial target. She can pinch-hit in the ruck – giving Wain a rest and holding her own at stoppages – and her set shot technique is clean and composed. The combination of ruck versatility, forward marking and kicking quality is rare, and clubs with a need for a tall who can do multiple things should be taking a close look.

Parsons developed plenty through the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division, impressing for North Shore Bombers and catching the eye in the Bombers’ flag-winning grand final against Sydney University last season in front of the big sticks.

Why she was overlooked: NSW talls have historically been slow to develop and Parsons was still finding her feet at Talent League level last season. The State Combine invite put her in the conversation but wasn’t enough to push her over the line.

Why she’s a chance now: The 2026 season has shown a player who knows her job inside 50, is clean under pressure and brings ruck versatility as a genuine bonus. She will be a long-term prospect still to continue building strength, but she’s a quality forward.

GWS GIANTS ACADEMY

Sophia Gaukrodger Midfielder/Forward | 173cm | 16/01/2007

If there is one player in the NSW over-age group who feels most like the one that got away, it is Gaukrodger. She was unluckily overlooked by the Giants Academy for the 2024 Talent League entirely – which meant she missed the carnival-level exposure that drives draft visibility – and quickly made her name through AFL Sydney with UTS Bats instead.

By the time the 2025 AFLW Draft came around, she had worked her way into the Giants Academy squad and put together four standout Talent League games, averaging 18.5 disposals and six goals per match, but found herself in the logjam of players just outside the bracket at the business end of draft night.

The 2026 season has only strengthened the case. She was clearly the Giants Academy’s best across the entire series, arguably best-on from her team in two of the three games and among the best in the other. Despite spending more time forward coming into the Talent League Girls to kick off proceedings in Round 2, she still held her own, and then went more on-ball once Zoe Curry returned to the Chargers.

Her yo-yo result of 16.08 level at the NSW-ACT Preseason Testing put her equal third in the state, confirming the tank that drives her high work rate is real and repeatable. She brings the defensive heat as readily as the offensive production.

Why she was overlooked: A combination of the 2024 Talent League miss – which cost her carnival exposure and therefore Allies selection – being overlooked for the Allies last season, and a draft pool that was deep in the midfielder-forward mould she occupies.

Why she’s a chance now: A player who kicked off the year with a dominant Summer Series performance and strong early 2026 form – averaging 18.5 disposals, 3.5 marks, 7.0 tackles and 2.5 rebound 50s – deserves to be drafted. The tools have been visible for two seasons. The only variable is whether a club assigns her a slot on May 4.