GLENELG coach Talia Radan can’t wait for Round 1 of the SANFL Women’s to kick off this weekend, as the second year coach is excited for what the Bays can produce in 2026. They bottomed out last season in what was a “reset year” for the club, and while Radan insisted there were “no expectations from me from a win-loss point of view”, the coaching and playing group “certainly don’t want to finish eighth again”.

“It’s always easier in your second year at the helm because you’ve had the opportunity to set the team systems and structure and obviously we always look to adapt and make a few tweaks here or there, but the majority of the playing group are really comfortable and clear on how we want to play our footy and what it looks like going forward,” Radan said.

“In the off-season we went to work, we were really targeted at trying to bring in experienced players who have really good footy IQ. “We think we’ve got a great core of kids there, but knowing we had some retirements floating around we really targeted players who would have an immediate impact, but are particularly footy smart and experienced individuals.”

Glenelg has not rested on its laurels, especially after losing the likes of former league best and fairest winner Jessica Bates and skipper Samantha Franson – both regular state representatives – to retirement. Instead, the Bays have brought in over-ager Isla Wiencke from the Giants to help on the inside and former Crow, Deni Varnhagen on the wing.

“We think she (Wiencke) was really unlucky to miss out so she was one that we targeted knowing that we’d lost Jess Bates to retirement, we needed a really contested ball-winner and ball-hunter and someone who is going to be a clearance machine and that’s exactly what Isla is. “But we want to support Isla to get to the next level so we’re hoping to showcase her in a little bit of a key position role as well so she’s got that ability to develop as a versatile player for the next level.”

On top of those names, a big transfer was former Norwood utility Kiana Lee who will likely add firepower up front, but could see herself rolling through the middle at different points as well.

“She’s just in the fittest shape she’s ever been in and has a really strong off-season and her strength and conditioning’s been outstanding,” Radan said. “Really looking forward to seeing how we can support her to go to another level with her footy, and obviously smart footy IQ, sharpshooter at the front end of the ground which is great.”

Add in the explosiveness of Kiara Henry – who has moved from Sandringham VFLW to South Australia with partner, cricketer Jake Fraser-McGurk – and the experience of former AFLW Demon Ella Little and ex-Double Blue Abbey Rigter, and Glenelg has covered a lot of bases.

“(Rigter) is just a workhorse but she’s got great footy IQ and awareness,” Radan said. “She’s had a lot of injuries and she did an iron woman a year or so ago, so she’s been off the footy radar for a couple of years. She’s just come back in and certainly hasn’t lost any of that footy IQ, so really excited to have her there.

“(Little’s) going to be a great addition for us in our back half and beautiful kick, evasiveness, smart with the footy in hand and just has that spatial awareness and understands where we want to move the footy.”

Radan knows there will always be some growing pains or teething problems when it comes to introducing a number of new experienced players, on top of farewelling some league champions. But for the Bays coach, it is about starting to build the club back up to “where we want to be”.

“We obviously had a – and I don’t like to use the term rebuilding year – but certainly a reset year for us last year and huge transition and our age demographic hadn’t happened at Glenelg previously,” Radan said. “We were a club who were in at the start and won a flag in 2021, and it was the first time that it had been a bit of an age shift and that rebuild period that every club inevitably goes through, so I just can’t wait, I really just looking forward to seeing how they gel together with our youth coming through.”

Wiencke is not the only former National Academy member on the Bays’ list with fellow over-age prospect Eloise Mackereth back at the Bays as the duo eye off the Preseason Draft as a mechanism to reaching the top level. For Mackereth, who was touted as a top talent in last year’s draft – and Radan conceded she “certainly didn’t expect to have her this year” – it is about enjoying her football again and building on the feedback she received from AFLW clubs last season.

“It’s a really high pressure year for a lot of those kids and she’s now not having to worry about Year 12 or Academy and she’s just really looking like she’s enjoying herself which is what we wanted to do,” Radan said. “Just make sure she had a smile on her face when she was out playing footy again. She received useful feedback from clubs and we certainly help her out with that. Ideally she gets picked up in the Preseason and I’d love that for her.”

The then 17-year-old had to back up a brilliant bottom-age campaign in a side with a new structure and a lot of young players as the number one forward. That, all while dealing with all the external factors of school and high-performance environments. Heading into 2026, Radan has given Mackereth the licence to play up the ground more and “provide here with a bit more freedom” as the likes of Lee, the improving Kaitey Whittaker and returning NTFLW leading goalkicker Cassie McWilliam add much more support inside 50.

RADAN ON HER UNDER-AGE DRAFT PROSPECTS

Top-Age

Georgie Fielder (Midfielder)

“She’s our star prospect going into this year, she’s obviously a top-ager. She won’t play any wing, she’ll be real pure mid. We do probably want to roll her off half-back a little bit. Just to show that versatility to recruiters. Knowing that players can roll into an AFLW program, most of them don’t roll straight into the midfield, they need a couple of years playing back or forward, or have to wait their turn, but we’ll probably see her a little bit more off half-back as well to showcase her speed and cleanliness with the ball. She’s just that professional. I reckon she’d be another three or four kilos heavier of muscle again this year. She just looks like an athlete, so I’m really excited for her. I expect she’ll play predominant mid for us this year.”

Bottom-Age

Tori Evans (Defender)

“Tori Evans is a real exciting surprise packet for us. We actually picked her up at a Glenelg country zone Talent Day last year and she’s from Keith so in the south east. She hasn’t played a lot of footy, but her growth has just been huge in nine months. I wasn’t surprised to see the state 18s pick her up. I wasn’t surprise at all. She’ll be a really exciting factor for us off half-back. She’s got elite speed, is the quickest player in our side. Just tenacity, and she’s really ferocious with how she hunts the footy. She plays a little bit like Emily Mableson from West, they move quite similarly. Tori’s just going to get better and better the more footy she plays, so she’s been really exciting.”

Charlotte O’Sullivan (Forward)

“Charlotte O’Sullivan’s just a great footy brain, tough, her defensive pressure is always a big positive for us playing as that medium forward. She makes great decisions with the ball in hand and her leadership is really outstanding too, so she’s one that it doesn’t matter that she’s 17, she’s an outstanding leader already. Sully’s going to be great for us and she comes in with that awareness of what it’s all about (after eight SANFLW games last year).”

Ava Walter (Defender/Forward)

“Ava Walter has had the ACL so we haven’t seen her yet at League level, but she’s not far off and she reminds me of Eloise Jones how she plays footy. Just a beautiful silky mover, quick. Just has a beautiful kick and execution and sees the game open up in front of her. If we can play her as a true flanker either at half-back or half-forward, she’ll be a great addition too when she’s fit and healthy. Not far to go off that ACL, we might see her in a few weeks which is pretty cool.”

SEASON EXPECTATIONS

Radan said she was “especially excited” because of the later start to the season, and was looking forward to seeing how new co-captains Asha Dufour and Ella Quinn would go in their leadership roles.

“They’ve been outstanding so far, really proactive. Just want to win and get us back to where we want to be,” Radan said. “I think it’s just that really perfect merger for us of experience and some targeted experience that we’ve brought in, and then the players that we know are going to get us back to where we want to be.”

“I’ve been really strong on trying to build Glenelg sustainably so I don’t want to have to rely on AFL talent to get us back to where we want to be. I want to make sure that we’ve grown our list from our own and we’re identifying our talent that’s come through and supporting them to develop as really reliable SANFL players so that’s part of our aim this year is to make sure that we’re responsible to where we want to be, it’s not just relying on the top few.”

There would be no excuses for the side not making inroads on last season, and while Radan said she would not focus on the wins and losses as a measure, there were plenty of indicators to ensure the Bays were on the right path.

“I just want that group to take the next level and being able to perform really consistently at SANFL. It’s not their first season now, we debut a lot last year, we debut 11 players at that League level so they know now what’s required, so let’s see how we can all improve.

“It’s how are we able to execute in the game, and execute in moments when we’re one goal down, how we are able to execute and get the job done and mature in the group. “That’s what I’m excited about.”