BOTTOM-ager Georgie Fielder draws comparisons to past Glenelg star Piper Window with the role, hairstyle and similar characteristics, but is quickly forging her own story with the Bays through the SANFL Women’s season.

Fielder played five games last season for the Bays coming out of a successful Under 16s campaign where she starred for the Croweaters en route to a championships title. Earning more midfield minutes this year under new coach Talia Radan, Fielder has shown she is capable of playing inside, outside or up forward.

Against South Adelaide on the weekend, while not able to get her side across the line, Fielder played a key role alongside star midfielder Jess Bates in getting on top around the stoppages and giving her forwards opportunities inside 50.

Fielder was the subject of our SANFL Women’s Player Focus for Round 10.

PLAYER FOCUS:

2025 SANFL Women’s – Round 10:
Glenelg 4.6 (30) def. by South Adelaide 8.5 (53)

#6 Georgie Fielder (Glenelg)
Stats: 27 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 5 clearances, 4 inside 50s

FIRST QUARTER

Fielder started on-ball for the Bays and saw plenty of familiar faces on the opposition given the Panthers trio of bottom-age midfielders who rotate through the middle. She got a clean first touch away while under pressure, and though her first kick was a little awkward, she won it back shortly after to dish off by hand.

With the first few minutes, Fielder began to accumulate the ball with ease, working between the arcs and up and down the field. When given any sort of space, the talented Bays prospect hits targets and places her kicks well, it is inly when under pressure or at speed that Fielder can refine her precision by foot.

Throughout the first term, the onballer reached up seven disposals, constantly going in hard and showing clean hands with her flick handballs extracting from the coalface to a runner being ultra-important. Her ability to be both a first and second-possession winner is a key trait of the teenager’s and she worked in tandem well with Bates in getting first hands to the ball and the Bays being on top through the opening 20 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER

As she would in each of the four quarters, Fielder started in the middle and found her first touch a minute in when marking on the wing. She drove the ball forward to a contest and unfortunately the Panthers managed to win it and then punished the Bays on the overlap leading to an Emily Brockhurst goal.

Her clean hands at ground level throughout the match were a real delight and she found space as well to mark and then deliver to targets forward of centre. In the fifth minute, Fielder won the ball at the stoppage, quickly flicked out a handball to a running teammate then pushed forward to win another handball and feed it out to Bates who had streamed forward beside her.

Predominantly impactful with her hands around the contest, Fielder played her role to a t and against quality opponents, held her own and looked like a natural midfielder. She still applied great pressure and worked hard to get involved in repeat contests.

THIRD QUARTER

Coming out from the half-time break facing a tough deficit on the scoreboard, Fielder went head-to-head with Couch – two decades her senior – and was first to the ball before being tackled. She laid one of her own against her opponent a couple of minutes later, then out of that stoppage showed her movement through traffic. Fielder darted between two opponents and kicked into space to a teammate’s advantage inside 50, then won another touch on the wing off the bounce to send yet another ball deep.

After a break, Fielder was back around the footy at half-forward, delivering a one-two from the sweeper position at the stoppage and with that time and poise, hit a target at centre half-forward. She showed her two-way running ability when marking at half-back to deliver down the ground, then finished off the term with a long kick from half-forward looking for a teammate on-one-one but just going past them to bounce through for a behind.

FOURTH QUARTER

Fielder rotated onto Layla Vizgaudis to start the fourth term and featured early with a mark on the forward side of the middle where she dished off to a running teammate. A few minutes later, Fielder stood strong in a tackle to get her hands free before being pinged, though it was cut off by Vizgaudis in congestion.

Fielder would win a couple more handballs over the next few minutes with her clean hands off the deck and ability to make good decisions with ball in hand coming to the fore. She worked from the inside to the outside to keep speed in transition, desperately trying to will her side back into the contest. Towards the end of the match, Fielder was running hard forward and continually putting pressure on the Panthers defence. Though ultimately it would not be enough to get the result, Fielder can hold her head high with her efforts.

CLOSING THOUGHTS…

Fielder is a promising player who is enjoying a really strong bottom-age season. One of a number of 2008-born South Australian prospects who have the potential to be high selections in next year’s AFLW Draft, Fielder has shown she can play just about any role with her smarts and clean hands among her best traits.

Still developing areas of her game such as her kicking under pressure or at speed, Fielder also seems to have the most influence when around the ball, as on a wing she can float in and out of games given the nature of the position. Going forward she is likely to hold her place at the coalface, but will likely rotate wing and forward at the national championships.