EVERYONE loves a bit of theatre when it comes to draft night, and there will be no shortage of posterising and poker faces tonight when the 2025 AFL Women’s Draft takes place. The first selection off the board is known, and there is a fairly good idea about the first dozen, but the order of which they fall will be fascinating.

PICK 1 LOCKED IN

As indicated last Tuesday, Richmond has opted to go for the elite athlete and all-round versatile star in Scarlett Johnson. Though those around her might have more runs on the board, Johnson’s upside is phenomenal and her 2025 season was as consistent as anyone else’s. Chuck her on a wing, up forward or down back, she has the athleticism, aerial ability and skills and smarts to be a key cog between the arcs and all over the field.

DO THE GIANTS BLINK OR BACK THEMSELVES?

GWS Giants are the ones who can shape the AFLW Draft. Known for some pretty famous smokescreens across the men’s and women’s drafts of the past, there is much conjecture as to who they are taking. Last week there was a certainty about it being Olivia Wolmarans and Chloe Bown, and while the former still looks to be the case, the latter comes with some uncertainty.

Expect the Giants to bid on Alex Neyland to force the Swans’ hand despite indicating mid-week they would just select – rather than bid – and then it comes down to whether or not the Giants will bid on late draft night invitee Kiera Yerbury, or stick with Bown. The club that has been the most keen on Yerbury outside the Swans has been the Crows, so while everything hinges on what the Swans do, don’t be surprised if the Crows then snatch up Yerbury with the very next selection.

THE YERBURY TRIGGER

Whether a club bids on Yerbury or not – and therefore takes her off the board – has a massive impact on the rest of the first round. The Swans would have been expecting a bid late in the first round or early in the second to match on the midfielder, but now they will have to sit tight and hope she survives the top 10. If she does, then the Swans’ Pick 28 comes into play to match, and if a club like Collingwood or Brisbane bids in the teens, they will safely secure her.

However that then leaves no draft capital to match the third Academy athlete, Madeleine Quinn. The Cats and Pies could do with a first-choice ruck, and with Quinn’s athleticism, a first round bid seems logical. A club could do what the Giants have threatened to do, and bid both back-to-back in order to secure one of them. However if the Swans have already matched Yerbury, then it is finders keepers for the Quinn bidder.

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUNS

The most talked about topic at this year’s AFLW Draft has been the Gold Coast Suns Academy and their plethora of top-end talents. It would be somewhat ironic if the Swans Academy ended up with the first two players off the board from the Northern Academies after all the dialogue, but expect the early picks to be filled with the Suns players.

Gold Coast will match, and all the clubs know it, so it will largely be academic whether a club bids at Pick 2 or Pick 18, the Suns will not need much time to think. Ava Usher, Sunny Lappin, Georja Davies and Dekota Baron are expected to be nominated on inside the top 10, with Alannah Welsh and Mikayla Nurse to follow in the teens. Even the injured but supremely talented Bronte Parker could draw a bid late in the first round, though more likely early in the second which the Suns will match with Pick 32.

The big watch is whether or not a club will take advantage of Rhianna Ingram being the eighth Suns Academy member and a large gap to Gold Coast’s next pick. If a bid comes in over the course of the 30s or even first few in the 40s, then Gold Coast will be unable to match. The same goes for Aleah Stringer and Annabelle Foat who the club will look at with the later selections.

PIES DRAFT BOUNTY

While it is hardly a Richmond 2024 AFL Draft hand, Collingwood has deliberately traded in to secure four picks inside the top 30, including two in the first round and two early in the second. Expect the Magpies’ third and fourth selections to end up back-to-back after bids, which will come in handy to see what they can pickup at that point.

Like many in this draft, clubs will play a game of chicken with the opposition. Imogen Trengove is a player the Magpies are keen on, and in a perfect world would love to get her with their second selection. It will be hard to turn down intercepting defender Evie Cowcher with their first, so if they feel Trengove will get to their second – likely to end up at 23 after bids – then they can have their cake and eat it too.

Of course that all depends on the Bown situation, because if the Vic Metro MVP was on the board at their turn, she would not be there for Essendon. The murmerings continue to build that perhaps, just maybe, the pick one contender could slide to the Magpies and remain at home with the Crows opting for local talent, Trengove. Do not be shock if talented West Australian Mia Russo is also on the board when the Pies roll around for their second selection.

EAGLES TO POTENTIALLY LAND A DRAFT BOLTER?

Every year there’s some draft bolters in the crop, and while Johnson and Yerbury have already been identified, a third name to watch out for tonight is Gippsland Power’s Abby Hobson. Given the lack of tall marking forwards in this year’s draft crop that is not attached to either Sydney or Gold Coast, West Coast attempted to get up to Pick 1 to grab local talent, Wolmarans.

That foiled attempt meant they will no longer be able to add the Subiaco tall, but instead will weigh up whether or not they make a play for Hobson. In similar circumstances to Trengove with the Pies, the Eagles will have a very nervous wait if they let Hobson slip down to their second selection at Pick 34. She meets a need, does not quite have the height that Wolmarans does, but certainly can play a similar role and has an incredibly high work rate.

Others that could well rise up to be in first-round contention include Eastern Ranges’ Asher Fearn-Wannan and Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels’ Jovie Skewes-Clinton, who have some enormous upside and hurt factor with their disposals. Adelaide would love to pick up Trengove as well, but the Pies swooping means they could turn their attention to another hard-working local prospect in Lucy Waye.

An additional draft bolter, albeit late in the proceedings is raw, but talented former netballer Yasmeen Janschek. She’s aligned to the GWS Giants through their Academy and also spent time with both North Shore Bombers, and predominantly Sandringham Zebras in the VFLW. Expect her to be a name called out with the Giants’ third and final selection tonight.