NOW the AFL Women’s Draft is over, we take a look at each club, who they picked and what they might offer to their team next year. We continue our countdown with Brisbane Lions, one of two teams in Queensland with an illustrious history reaching two of three grand finals, but have been rebuilding the last couple of seasons.

Brisbane:

#8 – Zimmorlei Farquharson (Yeronga South Brisbane/Queensland)
#37 – Indy Tahau (South Adelaide/Central Allies)
#38 – Ruby Svarc (Essendon VFLW)

Brisbane Lions have beefed up their X-factor inside 50 with a couple of young guns who will be eye-catchers throughout their career. Zimmorlei Farquharson and Indy Tahau are both terrific in the air, strong overhead and do the work at ground level as well to make them complete players. Rounding out their third selection, the Lions picked up 27-year-old Essendon VFL Women’s talent Ruby Svarc.

The latter of the trio has a different story with the mature-age recruit the younger sister of Cathy who enjoyed a ripping 2020 season. Knowing for her ball use and athleticism off half-back, Svarc has been at the Bombers for the past couple of seasons and will suit the Lions’ fast transition game style well. Svarc’s speed and pressure is synonymous with all of Brisbane’s pickups in the draft, showing a clear desire to fill that need and fit the team plan.

Farquharson has been a name in Queensland football for some time now, and has one of the greatest X-factors of the AFL Women’s Draft crop. You only need to watch the QAFL Women’s finals series to see the damage she could do against senior opposition, kicking three goals to send her Yeronga South Brisbane team into the grand final, then kicking another crucial major on the day and one of the best on ground. Dangerous at ground level and a huge vertical leap and burst, Farquharson will be the equivalent of 2020’s Roxy Roux with her eye-catching nature.

Tahau has similar traits to the others with an elite burst you do not see coming from a 180cm player. Her acceleration off the mark is something that sets her aside from other talls, and allows the key position player to spend time in attack or on the wing. Whilst playing in a premiership for South Adelaide last year – winning best on ground in that game – and then reaching the decider in the SANFL Women’s again, Tahau has opted to head to Queensland to join her mother at the end of her schooling.

All three players have the potential to force their way into the line-up, with Farquharson and Tahau particularly fitting the mould of young, exciting and athletic talls who provide targets in the forward half of the ground. With the Lions picking up a pair of small midfielders last year in Lily Postlethwaite and Isabel Dawes, they have now picked up back-to-back talls and look a well rounded side to continue their ascent up the ladder in 2021.