WHILE the 2026 AFLW Draft crop is shaping up to be one of the deepest in recent years, there is no shortage of premium talent at the pointy end. In the return of our Race to #1 series but this time for the women’s draft, we highlight the leading contenders vying for the top honour.

Next in this year’s series is South Australian star Taya Maxwell. The South Adelaide key position utility stands at 184cm but moves like a midfielder, kicks on both feet and possesses rare strength that has drawn comparisons to the best in the senior game. Once described by retiring SANFLW legend Jess Bates as “one of the strongest players” she had ever played against, Maxwell has pick one potential written all over her – if a shoulder injury sustained in the first game of the 2025 Under 18 Championships hadn’t cruelled her year.

>> Ones to watch: Top 26 AFLW Draft prospects in 2026

South Adelaide Women's, South Australia GirlsRuck

Taya Maxwell

Height: 184cm

Weight: -

DOB: 02-12-2008

BY THE NUMBERS:

2025 AFLW U18 National Championships (1 game – injured)
Started at ruck vs Vic Metro before suffering shoulder injury in Game 1
5.0 disposals | 7.0 hitouts | 2.0 clearances

2025 SANFLW League (11 games)
15.7 disposals | 3.0 marks | 12.3 hitouts | 4.7 clearances | 3.9 inside 50s

2024 SANFLW League (6 games)
8.0 disposals | 1.2 marks | 11.5 hitouts | 3.3 clearances | 1.7 inside 50s

ACCOLADES:

2026 AFLW National Academy member
2025 SA U18 Girls Emerging Leader
2025 National Futures Girls representative
2025 SANFLW Team of the Year (Interchange)
2025 Rookie Me Central SANFLW Team of the Year
2025 SANFLW Powerade Breakthrough Player nominee (Round 5)
2025 South Australia U18 representative
2024 SANFLW League premiership player (South Adelaide)

STRENGTHS

+ Strength and power
+ Versatility
+ Dual-sided kicking
+ Mobility for size
+ Penetrating ball use
+ Leadership

If you look purely at traits, Maxwell really should be the top pick in next year’s draft. The 184cm utility is built like a stay-at-home key position player but moves with the agility and evasiveness of a midfielder. That combination alone makes her a recruiter’s dream, but it is the depth of her skills on top of those physical attributes that elevates her to pick one contention.

Maxwell’s strength is borderline freakish for a player of her age. She can absorb contact, break tackles with power and impose herself on any contest she enters. It is no surprise that Bates – one of the SANFLW’s all-time greats – singled her out as among the strongest opponents she had ever faced. That physical edge gives Maxwell a platform that very few prospects possess.

What makes her truly unique is her ball use. Maxwell kicks with penetration on both sides of her body, launching 45-metre kicks with ease. That dual-sided ability means she can hurt teams from anywhere on the ground, regardless of which pocket she is kicking from. “You can’t do that at 184cm” is the common catchphrase when watching her, but Maxwell consistently defies those expectations.

Her versatility is the cherry on top. Maxwell can play in the ruck, across the backline, through the midfield or up forward, and she is effective in all four positions. That utility value is incredibly rare at the draft and offers whichever club selects her an enormous degree of tactical flexibility. Add in her leadership credentials as the SA Under 18s emerging leader from this year, and you have a player who ticks a lot of boxes.

QUESTION MARK(S)

While our previous two players Charlton and Martin had out of the box seasons for their bottom-age campaigns, Maxwell’s 2025 was cut down due to a serious shoulder injury in the very first game of the AFLW Under 18 Championships. That ended her carnival – and season – prematurely, missing out on a second Panthers flag.

It means though she has the traits to challenge for the top pick, she needs that continuity in 2025 to really flex her muscles on the draft crop. Had that injury not occurred, there is a strong argument that Maxwell would have been the outright favourite for Pick 1.

Her versatility, while a major strength, also raises the question of where she plays at the next level. Is she a ruck? A midfielder? A key position player? Having a defined role – or at least a primary position – will help clubs assess her projection more clearly. The “she can play everywhere” tag is exciting, but clubs picking at the top of the draft often want to know exactly what they are getting. Personally, she looms as a long-term midfielder who can also take hitouts, but will likely start forward, in the same vein of a Havana Harris.

OUR SCOUTS SAID…

“At 184cm, elite strength and great mobility for her size, along with elite ball use on both sides of her body, there is not much she can’t do. If a shoulder injury had not curtailed her year in the first game of the national championships, she likely would have been our choice for Pick 1. A full season with continuity and it will be hard to deny because her traits don’t grow on trees, and she has leadership to-boot.”

– Peter Williams, 2026 AFLW Draft Clubs to Watch: South Adelaide

“If Maxwell hadn’t gone down with injury early in the first game of the national carnival, she could very well have been our choice for Pick 1. ‘You can’t do that at 184cm’ is on repeat when watching Maxwell who is athletic despite being ridiculously strong, has a penetrating kick and is dual-sided, and can play on any line. On traits and upside, is absolutely in the top pick contention if she gets a clean run.”

– Peter Williams, 26 in 2026: AFLW Draft Prospects to Watch

“Seemed to be everywhere in the match and competed in the air and at ground level throughout the four quarters, using her skills and strength to impact the contest. She pushed forward from the middle when the Panthers were on top, then went behind the ball to be an intercepting option as well. Her clearance work out of the middle was a highlight in the game and Maxwell’s ability to clear long distances with her raking kick a vital cog in the Panthers’ win.”

– Peter Williams, 2025 SANFLW State Academy Notes: Round 9

“Maxwell has been able to juggle between ruck, midfield and forward, and she proved a handful for the opposition to contain. Her work at ground level was very good and she acted as a “fourth midfielder” when in the ruck as well. Maxwell launched a ridiculous 50m goal off a step midway through the second term which really got the team up and about, and otherwise was pretty handy throughout the match.”

– Peter Williams, 2025 SANFLW State Academy Notes: Round 3

WHERE SHE SITS

Maxwell is the wildcard in this year’s pick one race – and in many ways, the most tantalising prospect of the lot. Her rare combination of size, strength, mobility and dual-sided kicking puts her in a category of her own. If she had a clean run through the 2025 representative season, the conversation around the top selection could look very different.

As it stands, her injury-interrupted campaign means she sits just behind Martin and Charlton at the top of the draft order, though firmly in the top three to five mix. But make no mistake: a fully fit Maxwell charging through 2026 with her SANFLW form intact and a dominant national championships showing has the potential to leapfrog the field.

The 2026 season is an open book for Maxwell, and the storyline is hers to write. If fitness permits, she has all the tools to be the most impactful player selected in this year’s draft – and perhaps the most exciting.