TWO OF the more intriguing prospects in this year’s Talent League Girls crop went head-to-head in Round 2 at Queen Elizabeth Oval, with Carmela Perri and Milly Shortal producing massive individual performances in what was otherwise a impressive 32-point Murray Bushrangers win over the Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels.

>> AFLW DRAFT Q&A: Carmela Perri (Murray Bushrangers) | Milly Shortal (GWV Rebels)

We take a look at both players, their backgrounds and how they shaped up against each other on the day.

STATISTICS

STRENGTHS

Carmela Perri

+ Contested ball work
+ Explosiveness
+ Endurance
+ Tackling pressure
+ Ground-level cleanness

Perri’s strength begins and ends with her contested work. The Murray midfielder described her best qualities as her below-knee ball work and endurance in her recent Q&A, and both were on full display across four quarters. She attacked the ball with ferocity throughout, racking up eight hardball gets and applying ten tackles — a return that reflects a player who not only wins the ball but hunts it relentlessly when others have it. Her running capacity was a constant talking point; in the second quarter alone she burst forward to receive a handball deep inside 50 less than 30 seconds after winning a clearance at half-back, covering ground at a pace that made her a difficult assignment all day.

Milly Shortal

+ Explosiveness
+ Left-foot kicking
+ Competitiveness
+ Two-way running
+ Power through contact

Shortal models her game on Eilish Sheerin and you can see why – she is powerful, competitive, and hard to move off the ball. Her left-foot kicking has been a feature since her bottom-age season, and while her composure can improve, her penetration off her left side is undoubted. After earning a late call-up to Vic Country last year before cementing her spot in the summer hub, Shortal came into 2026 as the Rebels’ standout prospect and showed exactly why. Her ability to keep competing through contact and fend off opponents while still finding a disposal target is a genuine physical trait.

IMPROVEMENTS

Carmela Perri

– Kicking efficiency
– Contested marking

Perri’s efficiency by foot is an area of improvement, and is the way to go from being an already impressive player to a genuinely polished one. She turned the ball over in traffic and some of her ball use going forward could rushed at times. Given she came from soccer and started the code relatively late, the skill refinement is still a work in progress, but the physical traits underpinning the game are already there.

Milly Shortal

– Composure
– Decision making

Shortal has a tendency to rush the ball out of hand under pressure rather than take an extra second to find a target which looms as her main improvement element. A couple of times in the first term she blazed away towards goal but rushed or pulled the kick despite having more time than she thought, and at times lowering the eyes or waiting the split second to deliver the ball by hand or foot could take her game to another level. Like Perri, Shortal has natural physical and competitive elements, and it is about skill refinement.

STYLES OF PLAY

Perri is a true contested midfielder who uses her body and endurance to make her impact. She was consistently at centre bounces all day, and was willing to do the unglamorous work that won’t always show up in the stat sheet – spoiling an opposition kick-out, laying a tackle to create a repeat stoppage, or tapping the ball in front of herself at a back 50 contest to keep it moving for a teammate. Her goal in the third term – winning it around the back of a forward stoppage and launching a ripping kick to bend around the post from 40 metres – was the moment that captured everything her game can be at its best. Her work rate was incredible even though the bulk of her touches came close to a contest.

Shortal operates across a bigger range of the ground, bringing more of an outside dimension to go with her inside presence. She made her biggest impacts when running off half-back and creating with her left boot – picking up 14 handball receives across the game which reflects her role as the outlet from the stoppage rather than the first-possession winner, and often looking for one-twos when streaming down the ground. She was at her best when given space to run onto the ball and launch, and her second-quarter clearance off the centre bounce with a powerful burst away was the kind of moment that made her earn Vic Country recognition last year.

SUMMARY

Perri was the best player on the ground by the most traditional measures — 33 disposals, 10 tackles, eight hardball gets, and a goal, all in a winning performance. Her contested output and endurance are already at a level that makes her genuinely draftable, and with improved kicking efficiency to come as her skills catch up to her physicality, she looms as one of the more intriguing prospects this year.

Shortal’s 29 disposals in a losing side was its own kind of statement. She was GWV’s best player and continued a breakout trajectory that began last season. Her booming left foot and bigger frame give her a different profile to Perri, and both she and her club will be better for a full season of these kinds of performances.

Two players, two very different games — both worth watching closely in 2026.