IN a new weekly piece on Rookie Me Central, we hone in on those players to remember for the AFLW Draft, present and future. With four new AFLW clubs joining the competition, spots will heat up, and players will be looking to put their best foot forward. For this piece, we have looked at those players who might not be catching the headlines, but are worth both clubs and fans keeping an eye on. Here’s what we took out of the NAB League Girls, WAFL Women’s, SANFL Women’s, VFL Women’s and QAFL Women’s.

PRESENT (2022 AFLW Draft)

Over-age Shark snags six

Already having pieced together some impressive performances this season, East Fremantle forward Julia Teakle is a player that AFLW clubs should consider. The 18-year-old over-ager has always had a good goal sense throughout the 2022 WAFL Women’s season – her debut season at the level – and even kicked three majors in Round 2 against Swan Districts. But it was her single-handed six-goal performance against South Fremantle that had to be seen to be believed.

Though Rookie Me Central will have a full Player Focus out on the talented Shark tomorrow, Teakle slammed home five goals in a 20-minute patch after half-time to kick six of her side’s seven majors to tear a gallant South Fremantle apart and for her side to remain undefeated. Hailing from the Mid West, Teakle moved to Perth with her family to study physiotherapy at the University of Notre Dame. Having been noted here in previous weeks as a rising talent, she turned it on in Round 6 and her traits are more than good enough to be considered at the next level.

Teakle’s high goal tally speaks for itself, but what stood out the most particularly from the game is that the tall forward was able to mow down opposition players at half-forward, and kick her majors in a variety of ways. Not only were they marks or infringements, but Teakle even ran-down a player in the goalsquare as they attempted to rush it through such was her hunger to kick a goal and win the game. There are a lot of talented over-age players across the country, but in terms of athletic forwards with a terrific balance of offensive and defensive traits, few could match Teakle.

Ella Roberts returned

Sticking on the theme of Western Australian talents and linking to the topic of bottom-age stars who had their best top-age performances over the weekend, star talent Ella Roberts returned to the WAFL Women’s after a long-term layoff due to a broken ankle sustained in a basketball match during the off-season. Ranked number one in our March Power Rankings, the athletic tall forward-midfielder had a bit of a scratchy start as is to be expected, but once she got going it was clear to see she had lost none of her speed or goal sense.

Exclusively playing forward, Roberts roamed up the ground and mowed down one of the fastest players in the competition in Mikayla Western, whilst kicking a clever goal over the back. In the 39-point loss to Claremont, Roberts picked up 13 disposals, three marks, four tackles, one inside 50 and booted 1.1, with the behind being a poster as she tried to run into goal. Roberts is like a genuine cheat code for the game of Australian rules football, a simply remarkable talent.

Scott and Shepherd back to their bottom-age best

Two players who have incredible talent, but were yet to piece together four-quarter performances this year, both Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels’ Paige Scott and Dandenong Stingrays’ Emily Shepherd produced their best NAB League Girls performances of the year to help lead their side to victories. Shepherd’s Stingrays have had no trouble winning this season regardless, going undefeated heading into the 2022 NAB League Girls finals.

On the weekend, the midfielder-forward played permanently in the latter role, slotting five goals from 15 disposals, with all of her majors coming in the first and fourth terms. Scott slammed home three goals from 21 touches, and importantly seven tackles, helping the Rebels get over the top of the Sandringham Dragons in an upset win, only the second of the Ballarat-based Rebels’ season.

Of course, both represented Vic Country Under 19s as bottom-agers last year, with Scott taking out the leading goalkicker for the championships. Now both will be preparing for another campaign, with one game under their belt already, but will be hoping for a better overall team performance against South Australia in a couple of weeks time.

Syme, Goodwin put in record-breaking performances

Though there were plenty of outstanding individual performances in the SANFL Women’s competition for Round 7, two were particularly noteworthy. Norwood midfielder Sachi Syme broke the all-time clearance record of the competition, surpassing North Adelaide and Crows star Anne Hatchard, with 12 in the Redlegs’ win over West Adelaide. She also amassed a career-high 27 disposals in the big victory.

Meanwhile Glenelg defender Sarah Goodwin finished equal second in the all-time rebound 50s count with 12, behind just Sharnie Whiting‘s unforgettable performance in last year’s 2021 SANFL Women’s Grand Final where she recorded 14. Goodwin also had a career-high 32 touches, but unlike Syme, her efforts were in vain, going down to North Adelaide, with the Roosters’ full-back Kristi Harvey the other player to record 12 rebound 50s in a match, back in Round 3 of this year.

FUTURE (2023 AFLW DRAFT AND BEYOND …)

McNaughton continues to excite

Though her performance was overshadowed by Teakle’s remarkable effort up the other end, talented Under 16s small forward Noa McNaughton had herself quite the game in the Bulldogs’ loss. Whilst the visitors ultimately faded out of the game, the 161cm 15-year-old just has natural talent. She knows where the goals are, has a quick burst and reads the play well. If she can gain that bit more composure and keep her feet, then she could be one of the most exciting forwards for the 2024 AFLW Draft. In the loss to the Sharks, McNaughton managed 10 disposals, four marks, one tackle, four inside 50s and a goal, with that goal being a superb 40m run inside 50 and kick after a bounce, whilst having a couple of other opportunities. Raw, but very exciting.

Brooksby one to remember for 2023

Crossing back over the border for next year’s draft, Norwood’s Molly Brooksby is just a really consistent, clean talent with plenty of upside. She uses the ball well, reads the game effectively and has a high-level running capacity. Ticking a lot of boxes in terms of her draft profile, Brooksby is a natural outside winger, who is also not afraid to crack in and win the contested ball. Her best impact comes when she has grass to take and can set up plays going inside 50 with effective disposal, and her technique is very neat.