A natural inside midfielder, Isobel Kuiper remains one of the more consistently dominant inside midfielders at SANFL Women's level. After tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) late in the season last year, Kuiper made a huge return to action and played a key role for Sturt in 2023. Always a brilliant contested ball-winner and clearance expert, Kuiper won Team of the Year honours yet again despite the delayed start to the year.

Her final execution and polish on her touches are still a work in progress, but Kuiper's strengths lie in her extraction ability. She makes players better around her, and is a superb first possession winner at stoppages. Defensively, she is a fierce tackler and two-way runner, with a high production rate that forces opposition teams to try and quell her at stoppages considering she is also on the taller side for a midfielder.

Having largely pidgeonholed herself in that inside role, Kuiper is one that her coaches can pencil in to do her job each week. In her return via the Development League for one game, it was clear she was a class above, and then made a return to senior level like she had never left. At the least she would compete for a spot on an AFLW list, with her strengths and importance to an on-ball group evident each and every week.

STRENGTHS:

- Contested work
- Clearances
- Defensive pressure
- Production
- Consistency

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Outside game
- Polish