IT was a tough ask picking just one player from a round where so many stepped up in the absence of their AFLW Academy teammates. After much discussion, we have selected Gippsland Power’s Emily Haeusler as this week’s AFL Draft Central TAC Cup Girls’ Player of the Week.

Haeusler was a standout across half-back for the Power, providing a great anchor from which Gippsland could rebound, and was a huge reason the Power won yet another game, this time against the Bendigo Pioneers at Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve.

#6 Emily Haeusler

Her best performance of the year and put together a four quarter performance. Camped at half-back she rebounded everything, keeping a firm line between half-back and the centre of the ground. Her first interaction was a good one, side-stepping an opponent and kicking long inside 50 to a one-on-one. Moments later she took a great overhead mark one-on-one and kicked to Alana Rippon on the wing. She showed off her fleet-footedness using agility to turn her opponent inside out and showed composure while on the move. Her first term was superb but it did not stop there, consistently providing rebound for the power, intercepting anything in her area and laying some great, fierce tackles. Her mindset was also promising. In one instance in the fourth quarter where she missed a kick out of defence after winning the ball at ground level, but rather than berate herself, ran forward, bumped the opponent and locked the football up to stop the Pioneers getting it forward.