Macy Watkins Draft Profile

Sandringham DragonsMidfielder

#19

Macy Watkins

height: 171cm

weight:

D.O.B: 24-05-2007

Leagues: AFLW U18 Championships, Coates Talent League Girls

Snapshot
Analysis
Summary

SNAPSHOT: “A hard working, defensively-minded midfielder who has clean hands at the coalface.”

Macy Watkins has made her name as a reliable and consistent player through Sandringham Dragons’ midfield, often doing the things that no one likes doing. She will have a defensive, team-first attitude which enables her to be looking after others around her, ahead of her own game. At times she has sacrificed in order for the team to succeed and is a ‘coach’s dream’.

Watkins’ journey started out at St Kilda City in the South Metro Junior Football League (SMJFL) back in 2017. She played 43 games over her first three seasons, and after being unable to play through 2020 due to the global pandemic, managed a further nine in 2021 returning to the club. The following season she played interleague and also averaged a goal a game across two of three Under 16s divisions she played for St Kilda City.

While others might have been cracking into Vic Metro’s squad in their double bottom-age campaign, Watkins was doing the hard yards, competing at local level for her club. She had a breakout season through the SMJFL, booting 15 goals in 17 games, including a haul of four. The future Dragons midfielder helped play a key role in steering her side to a premiership that year over Beaumaris by just three points.

After making the Dragons’ Under 18s squad ahead of the 2024 Coates Talent League season, Watkins cracked in for a Round 1 debut, and played 15 games. She immediately endeared herself to the coaches with her attitude and work rate, named among the best on 10 occasions. She averaged 13.9 disposals and 6.4 tackles for the season, summing up her defensive abilities.

Moving into her top-age campaign, the focus for Watkins was to do more damage outside the contest. She upped her disposal numbers to 20.7 for the Dragons, while maintaining a 6.7-tackle average at the level. Watkins also put up 5.1 clearances and 3.1 inside 50s, while winning the bulk of her possessions in a contest.

Her form saw her crack into Vic Metro where she played midfield/forward and managed 13.3 disposals, 1.8 marks, 4.5 tackles and 2.0 clearances. By the end of the year, Watkins had earned a State Draft Combine invite and put her name in draft contention.

Click the ANALYSIS tab for more

STRENGTHS:

+ Contested work
+ Defensive pressure
+ Clean hands
+ Composure
+ Leadership
+ Two-way running

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Speed
- Offensive output

Watkins gamestyle begins around the ball, with her contest work in both winning the ball and stripping the opposition of it, a standout. Her defensive traits are what shine through, with the Dragons' midfielder's level of effort never wavering in a match. She gives 100 per cent and it shows through her pressure, as well as her two-way running and natural leadership.

The hard nosed onballer leads by example with her competitiveness and attack on the contest, and coming into the year, her inside ball-winning ability was never questioned. Even getting the ball, she is super clean and composed with ball in hand, and feeds it out to her teammates or delivers neatly to teammates going forward.

Under pressure her kicking could be a little bit tidier, but as a whole she generally is effective by hand or foot. Her two-way running comes into it if she does turn it over, not afraid to get back and help her defence, or push up and apply pressure to the ball carrier.

On top of those elements, Watkins' physicality around the ground and being willing to crunch players to win the ball back, or put her body on the line to save a goal or mark are other trademarks of her game. Essentially, outside of her footballing skills, she has a lot of intangibles that do not always come naturally to players.

The main knocks on Watkins' game comprise of her speed and her offensive output. She does not kick a lot o goals - just two in 27 games across the past two seasons - and usually she is more suited to running defensively or tackling hard. From a speed perspective, she definitely lacks the pace that other midfielders tend to have, and having been such a great inside ball-winner, she has not had as many opportunities to play outside that role.

She has had stints off half-back and half-forward in brief moments, but at the end of the day, Watkins is a natural ball-winner and hunter. She has some great contested traits and will never die wondering. The speed issue is always going to be a question mark for clubs in a world where athletes are favoured, but Watkins does plenty of off-ball work really well.

DRAFT RANGE: Late

SUMMARY:

Macy Watkins has done a power of work to throw her name in draft contention. She has developed areas of her game to find more of the ball and show off some of her traits a little better. Ultimately if picked up it will be late in the draft, but she has come from playing local league a couple of seasons ago to having a State Draft Combine invite.

AFLW U18 Championships

Season	Team	K	HB	D	M	CP	UP	T	HO	CLR	I50	R50	GL	GM	K	H	D	M	HO	T	G	DC
2025	Vic Metro Girls	20	33	53	7	29	28	18	0	8	4	1	0	4	5.0	8.3	13.3	1.8	0.0	4.5	0.0	45
Total	-	20	33	53	7	29	28	18	0	8	4	1	0	4	5.0	8.3	13.3	1.8	0.0	4.5	0.0	45

Coates Talent League Girls

Season	Team	K	HB	D	M	CP	UP	T	CLR	I50	R50	GL	GM	K	H	D	M	T	G	DC
2024	Sandringham Dragons	71	138	209	20	0	0	96	0	19	22	1	15	4.7	9.2	13.9	1.3	6.4	0.1	41
2025	Sandringham Dragons	118	130	248	30	154	115	80	61	37	11	1	12	9.8	10.8	20.7	2.5	6.7	0.1	82
Total	-	189	268	457	50	154	115	176	61	56	33	2	27	7.0	9.9	16.9	1.9	6.5	0.1	123