State Academy notes: 2025 SANFLW – Round 4
AS TEAMS got their final preparations in before the first league-wide bye for AFL Gather Round, the South Australian State Academy members produced a mixed bag of performances across the weekend. We took note of how each of them performed, with the Under 16s players out of action at the national championships.
State Academy notes: 2025 SANFLW – Round 3
SOUTH Australia’s top AFLW Draft prospects from the State Academy continued their development across Round 3 of the SANFL Women’s. We took note of how each of those playing at League level performed, with all opinions those of the individual author.
State Academy notes: 2025 SANFLW – Round 2
A NORWOOD debutant and fellow Redlegs returning young star headlined some fresh faces in our State Academy notes this week, while a host of players who were quieter in Round 1 contributed to their respective SANFL Women’s teams’ performances in Round 2.
AFLW Draft Q&A: Lily Smart
REIGNING Sturt Development League Best and Fairest winner Lily Smart made her senior debut last weekend, with the talented athlete getting a taste for the SANFLW. Playing off a wing, the teenager who won silver for Australia in the Under 18s Women’s Long Jump at the Oceania Athletic Championships showed she can compete at a […]
State Academy notes: 2025 SANFLW – Round 1
AFTER a long preseason, South Australia’s State Academy members were back in action as the first round of the SANFL Women’s competition took place over the weekend. For another year, each week we take a look at how each of the State Academy members performed across the four games.
2025 SANFLW | Familiar faces, new colours
IT IS just two sleeps until the 2025 SANFL Women’s season kicks off with some huge matchups planned for Round 1. However before the teams play for official premiership points, we take a look at some names that have changed clubs or returned to teams over the off-season. Central District: The Bulldogs fell short of […]
2025 SANFLW team preview: Sturt
FINALS are firmly in the sights of Sturt coach Michael O’Connor for the 2025 SANFL Women’s season, with the Double Blues mentoring understanding the tough nature of the tight competition since reaching the 2022 decider three years ago. Since then, the Double Blues were eliminated in the first week in 2023, then missed out last […]
AFLW Draft Q&A: Sophie Thredgold
HARD-RUNNING defender Sophie Thredgold had a breakout year for Sturt in the SANFL Women’s, becoming a feature in the team’s back five and cementing her spot in the South Australian Under 18s squad. Thredgold played all 14 games for the Double Blues, averaging 9.7 disposals, 2.6 marks and 2.6 rebound 50s in her bottom-age campaign. […]
SANFLW 15 to Watch in 2025: #1 Monique Bessen
IN TERMS of sheer impact last year from a bottom-age cohort, Sturt midfielder/forward Monique Bessen stood clearly on top from a SANFLW production perspective. The talented National Academy member already looked liked a veteran in the way she went about it, and now entering her top-age season as a readymade midfielder who can drift forward, […]
AFLW Draft Q&A: Monique Bessen
ONE OF the top prospects in this year’s AFLW Draft is smooth-moving South Australian midfielder-forward Monique Bessen. A Sturt talent who has followed in the footsteps of recently drafted India Rasheed, Bessen is an equally talented utility who oozes class and smarts across the ground. We spoke to the National Academy member at the recent […]
