Madison Gray is a highly athletic and clean defender who co-captained the Murray Bushrangers for the 2022 NAB League Girls season. Gray was often stationed out of defence and held a high line to impact the play up the field, and she had a run-and-gun attitude to her style. Not a high possession winner, Gray still caught the eye with her ball use and footy smarts.

In terms of her strengths, Gray certainly has a range, from her athletic capabilities to her natural football abilities. She recorded the highest standing jump and both sides running jumps , finished third overall in the agility and top 10 in the 20m sprint at the NAB League Girls Preseason Testing. She admitted she needed to improve her endurance, and after an injury setback this year where she only managed to play six games, that will still be the case. But as the numbers show, her athleticism alone is one area that catches the eye.

Outside her natural athleticism, Gray is a clean user of the ball and generally a good decision maker. With the amount of grass she takes on one of her runs, she already carries it that 60-metres plus, which is a huge advantage for her side. But not only does she carry it and use it well, she backs up effectively with strong second efforts. As an example she might spoil and opponent then attack the ball hard to win it at ground level and look for an option forward.

The knock on Gray will be her accumulation as she only averaged the 10 touches per game at NAB League level, and her highest disposal game was just 12. When she can build her tank further, she will be able to impact for longer and even spend more time up the field.

On pure football talent alone though, Gray has a great balance of traits and should be considered by an AFLW club.