DESPITE a difficult final-round result for West Adelaide, Emily Mableson stood tall as the Bloods’ best afield in their 9.4 (58) to 1.8 (14) loss to South Adelaide. The top-age prospect worked tirelessly between midfield and defence, collecting 32 disposals, five clearances, five inside 50s and five rebound 50s in a complete all-ground performance. Mableson was another one of our SANFLW Player Focuses for Round 14.

>> AFLW DRAFT Q&A: Emily Mableson (West Adelaide)

Club: West Adelaide
Height: 170cm
Date of Birth: 05/05/2008

STRENGTHS:

+ Decision making
+ Kicking skills
+ Defensive pressure
+ Stoppage craft
+ Composure
+ Football IQ

IMPROVEMENTS:

– Strength
– Explosiveness

ROUND 14: vs. South Adelaide
Statistics: 32 disposals, 4 marks, 9 tackles, 5 clearances, 5 inside 50s and 5 rebound 50s

FIRST QUARTER

Mableson started on-ball against Nikki Nield and was quickly around the contest, though South Adelaide’s pressure made clean first possession difficult. An early gather at half-back resulted in a hurried kick that was intercepted on the wing, but she responded well with a strong midfield tackle in the sixth minute and kept hunting the ball after moving it on.

Her forward work began to show as the term progressed. Midway through the quarter, she sent the ball to the hotspot inside 50 and continued to press forward in search of the next involvement. She marked on the wing three minutes later but was dragged down by Caitlin Couch after playing on and was caught holding the ball before she could get boot to ball.

The more typical Mableson sequence came shortly after. She mopped up on the opposite wing, released quick hands, received the ball back and kicked effectively to a contest at half-forward. Later in the term, she took a handball receive and went long inside 50 to give the Bloods another opportunity. Even without a clean scoring return, her willingness to run both ways and link the ground was apparent.

SECOND QUARTER

Starting on-ball again, Mableson produced a strong transition from defence early in the second term. She sent a clearing kick to the wing to relieve pressure, then worked to the next stoppage and won a handball clearance to Chelsea Newitt, who was able to kick inside 50.

In the fourth minute, Mableson showed her strength through contact near the boundary. Guiding the ball at ground level from the opposition kick-in, she nudged one opponent out of the way, gathered, wore another bump and still released a handball into forward 50. It was one of the more impressive contested moments of her afternoon, particularly given strength remains an area of development.

There were a couple of moments where South Adelaide’s pressure forced her into errors. A gather and sidestep on the wing was followed by a smothered kick in the sixth minute, while a forward-50 tackle on Nield a moment later resulted in a free kick against her. Mableson recovered well, reading the ball perfectly off hands in defensive 50 and kicking effectively to a half-back contest.

Her work rate remained excellent. She gave off a lovely release handball in defence while being tackled, then broke from a centre stoppage in the 15th minute, gathered, kicked inside 50 and followed up with a big tackle in the forward arc to lock the ball in. Mableson had 12 disposals by half-time despite the Panthers’ control of the scoreboard.

THIRD QUARTER

Mableson began the third quarter in the midfield and steadily worked into what was arguably her most polished term. She marked from a kick-in and delivered effectively by foot to the defensive side of the wing, then gathered in congestion two minutes later and got the ball clear before reading the next ruck tap and firing off an effective handball.

Her game awareness came to the fore through the middle of the quarter. She read another tap in the eighth minute and kicked down the line to a contest, before marking on the wing and delivering a brilliant 45-degree pass inboard. The kick opened the game up and was a glimpse of the vision and kicking variety that make her such a damaging ball user when given time and space.

Midway through the quarter, Mableson worked an opponent out of the contest on the defensive side of the wing, released a handball, then won the ball back and fired another handball away. It was a repeat-effort passage that captured her determination to stay involved beyond the first action. She had reached 19 disposals by three-quarter time and was continuing to provide West Adelaide with composure in transition.

FOURTH QUARTER

With the tenacious Olivia Evans now her opponent around the stoppages to start the fourth term, Mableson laid an early tackle and continued to work hard as the rain made conditions increasingly difficult. In the opening minute, she combined in a quick one-two in defence and kicked to half-back just before being tackled. At the next defensive-50 stoppage, Evans applied immediate pressure but Mableson still managed to fire out a handball.

She created a more attacking moment in the seventh minute, running away from Evans on the wing, taking the handball receive and kicking to the hotspot inside 50. Another strong passage came at half-forward shortly after, where she won a one-on-one against Evans to release the handball, then followed up with a tackle to lock the ball in.

Not every forward action could be converted. A left-foot kick from 25 metres was affected in the tackle and travelled high to the pocket, while the wet ball slipped through her fingers at half-forward later in the term. Her response to those moments was immediate; she released a clean handball at the next stoppage against the far stronger Taya Maxwell, then gathered a loose handball and fired it away before the ball was locked up again.

Mableson’s final meaningful involvement came in the 20th minute. She won a holding-the-ball free kick and sent a long ball inside 50 to retiring skipper Madison Russell, whose snap from her final SANFLW kick was unlucky to miss after a poor bounce near the goalline. It was a fitting final contribution from Mableson, who continued to drive West Adelaide forward until the final siren.

SUMMARY

Mableson’s 32 disposals, five clearances, five inside 50s and five rebound 50s told the story of a player prepared to influence every part of the ground. In a match where West Adelaide were held goalless until late in the final term, she did not go missing or settle for cheap touches; she was repeatedly at the source of defensive exits, midfield stoppages and forward entries.

Her composure and game awareness were the standout traits. The read off hands in defensive 50 during the second term, multiple reads of the ruck tap throughout and excellent skills in dour conditions all reflected a player who sees the next phase early. She has the kicking variety to release pressure, change the angle or go long to the hotspot, and was able to produce several high-quality entries despite the Bloods’ limited scoreboard return.

The defensive side of the performance was just as important. Her ability to work from one contest to the next, whether on-ball or behind the play, and still lay nine tackles when winning so much of the ball herself gave West Adelaide a level of resistance throughout the day.

Mableson is a technically polished user of the ball; adding further strength and first-step explosiveness will give her more time to execute when the pressure arrives immediately. The South Australian Under 18 MVP and All-Australian half-back has already shown the class to impact games in multiple roles, and this performance reinforced her standing as one of the state’s most complete draft prospects.