Wood tackles all challenges in top-age year
AFTER missing out on the AFL Women’s Under-18 Championships last year due to injury, Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels’ Ella Wood was not going to let anything stop her missing her top-age championships. The tough inside midfielder earned her place in Vic Country’s side for the championships following a NAB League Girls season where she […]
Sheppard follows sisters to grasp opportunities
FOLLOWING in the footsteps of her older sisters, Paige Sheppard was lucky enough to already have people she could lean on in the female football pathway. The Geelong Falcons’ top-ager earned Vic Country selection after a strong year, which then followed on by a National Draft Combine invitation. Speaking at the combine, Sheppard recalled how […]
Patrikios overcomes initial pressure to flourish at championships
IT has been a whirlwind 12 months for Calder Cannons’ and Vic Metro star, Georgia Patrikios. After telling us her journey into football last year, Draft Central caught up with Patrikios at the AFL Women’s Draft Combine where she described what the experience had been like in her top-age year with so much expectation around […]
McEvoy all class and determination
THREE-time All Australian and Geelong Falcons captain, Lucy McEvoy is one of the highly touted prospects ahead of the draft and for good reason given her impressive skillset and footy brain. McEvoy has never been far from the Sherrin, playing Auskick from a young age and working her way into representative sides credit to her […]
Experienced O’Malley thrives on team culture
UNLIKE a number of NAB League Girls players, Oakleigh Chargers’ Chloe O’Malley has been somewhat of a pioneer in her region when it comes to women’s football. She was into Australian rules football ahead of many of her peers, picking up a ball from when she could walk and getting involved in any pathway she […]
Rippon making the most of her opportunities
ENCOURAGED by her school footy coach who also happened to be Gippsland Power coach Scott Armour, Alana Rippon jumped into footy and has embraced every opportunity that has come her way since. “I started just with school football and I really enjoyed that,” Rippon said. “My coach from school football was lucky enough to be […]
Mature Edwards a leader through action
WHILE many draft hopefuls are judged from the eye on their on-field capabilities, Eastern Ranges and Richmond Victorian Football League Women’s (VFLW) youngster Madeleine Edwards has developed a great balance of on and off-field traits that will hold her in good stead for the future. Speaking at the NAB League Fitness Testing Day, it was […]
Defensive pressure a Locke for Bushrangers defender
IF there is one area of the game that you can guarantee from Murray Bushrangers’ defender Sophie Locke, it is her tenacious tackling pressure. Having been denied the chance to play for a number of years given the concern from her family, it turns out Locke was not the one to be worried about – […]
Brown leads from defence for young Bushies
AFTER Millie Brown told us her story last season as a bottom-ager, the Murray Bushrangers captain returned to the NAB League Girls competition with a new role and standing up for her side week-in, week-out. Speaking at the NAB League Fitness Testing Day, Brown said her contested game was a real focus for her coming […]
Versatility the key for Xenos
LIKE many other female footballers her age, Nicola Xenos did not have the typical football upbringing. The Oakleigh Chargers player came through the ranks after starting school footy, having wanted to play from a young age. “I started my footy journey when I was about 11 years old and it was just with the team […]
