STRENGTHS:

+ Contested work + Defensive pressure + Leadership + Fundamentals + Dual-sided + Consistency

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Outside game - Scoreboard impact

PROFILE:

Whiley is a member of the AFLW Academy and primarily an inside midfielder. She has spent time in a range of positions, but largely as a bottom-ager. In 2022, Whiley played 10 games to follow-up from her eight in 2021, increasing her overall production year-on-year.

While she often spent more time on the outside prior to this year due to the likes of Montana Ham and Charlotte Baskaran being on the premiership-winning Western Jets side, Whiley had no trouble taking the reins both on and off the field. She captained the club, and shared the bulk of the contested ball-winning with Kiera Leare.

Focusing in on Whiley's game, what really stands out is her strong grasp on the fundamentals. She gets to the right spots, wins the ball and makes good decisions with ball-in-hand. Often a lot of her possessions are within a metre of the coalface, and she is one who at a ball-up will have the option of burrowing down, but also ducking out the back and clearing the ball forward.

A reliable ball user on both sides of her body, Whiley is not afraid to put her body on the line. She will do all the team things, and also lay the big tackles when required. Her consistency with both her attack on the contest, and her overall production can hardly be doubted, with no less than 14 disposals in any Talent League game.

There are higher volume production players, but Whiley plays to her strengths and does it well. She is not one who will take a lot of marks or kick a lot of goals, but she will often be the one releasing a teammate to space, or stopping an opponent from scoring. Those elements of increasing her outside input and scoreboard impact are definitely improvements, but if a team is drafting Whiley it is for her inside game, and primarily fundamental work.

A natural footballer, Whiley does not have many flaws in that sense, and while others are more explosive or agile, the Western Jets top-ager has the smarts and reading of the play to react quicker than others. She gets proactive at the stoppages and works hard all game.

Going forward, Whiley has a great base to work with, and realistically on her skills alone, she has what it takes to get to the next level. While clubs will often go searching for a player with enormous upside at the expense of fundamentals, Whiley has the latter in spades, while still having some of the former to improve.