STRENGTHS:

+ Aerial ability
+ Strength
+ Athleticism
+ Marking
+ Upside

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Exposure
- Fundamentals

PROFILE:

Eaton is a name who would not have been on any club's radars 12 months ago given her strong netball ties and success in the sport. The talented netballer won Rookie of the Year in 2021 for South Coast Blaze and was highly touted in the sport. But in 2023, she made the move across to Aussie rules with the Swans Academy and made her own mark in a new code.

Plenty before her have earned rookie spots off cross-code changes, and earning an AFLW Draft Combine invites suggests she could be next. Though she is raw and still developing fundamentals in the game, she showed promising signs, albeit in limited opportunities.

By limited, it is just four games of high-level football, with the Swans Academy (two). Allies (one) and Southern Power in the AFL Sydney Women's Premier Division (one). It means that there is a fair bit of unknown in the way that Eaton goes about her football, but in that time there have been glimpses of what she could become.

Playing as a key defender, the 178cm tall showed a consistent effort above her head, and strong hands to intercept mark. With good strength and ability to match up well one-on-one, her off-ball work caught the eye. Used to running in bursts on the netball court, Eaton is no stranger to working hard across the ground.

Her improvements are not surprising for a player with so little experience in the sport. Her fundamentals and decision making in particular are areas that need to continue to develop, while her exposure against athletes with far more experience is so limited.

Naturally her upside is something that the club that drafts her will hold onto. Though she is a long-term prospect and will likely juggle her footy with her netball, what she could provide considering she is a potential rookie, is a low-risk, high-reward selection.