STRENGTHS:

+ Endurance
+ Contested work
+ Defensive pressure
+ Aerial ability
+ Skills
+ Clean hands
+ Consistency

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Scoreboard impact
- Explosive speed

PROFILE:

Sarah Poustie's game is a great deep dive into a player who has such well-balanced traits across the board. Starting with her elite point of difference - her endurance - Poustie will just outwork any opponent and run out four quarters without too many problems. She showcased that running ability first on a wing, and then on the inside, ability to help transition the ball between defence and offence for her respective sides.

That inside-outside balance will be appealing to clubs and is a clear strength, which is underpinned by her clean hands and defensive pressure. She can win it at the coalface or in space, at groundlevel or in the air and boasts clean hands to exit congestion well. Able to matchup well against most opponents, the 171cm Poustie will use her smarts and strengths to outbody opponents and clunk good marks, but also gets a lot of her marks via dropping into the hole a kick behind play for an opponent's dump clearing kick from their defensive 50.

When at the coalface, Poustie reads the play well and can be a first or second possession winner, has a team-first attitude and is able to use the ball well by hand or foot even under pressure. She can use both sides of her body, though her right is significantly more damaging than her left which can be a little vulnerable if under pressure or off balance in the slightest.

Her tackling ability is an underrated trait, with Poustie really good at taking playes cleanly and avoiding giving away free kicks. However when the shoe is on teh other foot, Poustie is great at drawing free kicks. She does not play for them or anything like that, but drives her body to win the hard ball with such vigour that naturally opponents will take her high or land in her back trying to stop her.

Poustie's work in contested situations stands out, and as good as her running capacity is on the outside, it is hard to overlook her ability on the inside. She did it all of her top-age year and strangely enough her only two sub-20 disposal games came in teh finals series after a season-high 32-disposal effort in the first final. However despite the lower production, the Chargers star did not play badly, she just played her role as she did every other week.

While for all her abilities and strengths, there are a couple of factors that perhaps hold her back from being in that top group in this year's AFLW Draft. The main question mark centres around her athleticism, but more so her speed. She is okay, but certainly not quick, and that is arguably the one element stopping her being a clear Top 10 player.

In saying that, Poustie covers the ground so well thanks to her elite endurance and great understanding of the game. However she can get caught trying to get out of stoppages and instead plays to her strengths by feeding the ball out when under pressure or putting the pill to advantageous situations. In addition to that, her agility could also improve, though again, it is just okay without being too bad.

Finally, the other improvement Poustie can make to her game is hitting the scoreboard a little more. She still kicked three goals this season - from 15 games - in Oakleigh colours, and one for Vic Metro, but like a lot of good midfielders, impacting the scoreboard more consistently will be an element to take her game to another level.

Despite these improvements, Poustie should still be among the most sought after talents, especially given the value she could add to a club and the potential for her to be outside the top group which could limit some of the better side's access to a quality midfielder.