Talent League Player Focus: Cooper Hodge (Lions Academy)
THERE has been plenty of talk surrounding Cooper Hodge‘s pending decision ahead of this year’s draft, whether to follow his father-son ties to Hawthorn or continue through Brisbane’s academy pipeline. Either way, he let his footy do the talking on Sunday with a breakout Talent League performance. Hodge racked up a season-high tally of 32 […]
State(s) in Focus: Hypothetical Allies Girls squad
A CONTINUED growth in New South Wales female footballing pathways over the last few seasons and particularly looking to the future has plenty of exciting prospects set to line up for the Allies at this year’s AFLW Under 18 Championships. While the squad itself is yet to be decided, as we did for the boys’, […]
Scouting Notes: El Souki spearheads Jets scoring spree
IT WAS the Khaled El Souki show as Western notched its second win of the Talent League season on Sunday, defeating Calder by 56 points in their Round 7 clash at DSV Stadium. The Cannons came out firing with the game’s first first goals, but it was smooth sailing for the Jets from that point, […]
2026 Talent League Girls R5 notes: Tasmania Devils vs. Suns Academy
A WET Windsor Park made for tricky conditions between the Tasmania Devils and Gold Coast Suns Academy as the latter continued to bring in a host of Under 16s stars for the clash after a dominant national carnival. They proved to be amongst the best on the ground as the Suns saluted, 8.7 (55) to […]
2026 Talent League Girls R5 notes: Western Jets vs. Calder Cannons
A DOMINANT second-half display carried Western Jets to a 9.3 (57) to 1.6 (12) victory over Calder Cannons in Round 5 of the Talent League Girls, with the Cannons leading 9-0 after the first term before the Jets booted nine unanswered goals across the final three quarters in difficult wet conditions. We took note of […]
Scouting Notes: Knights win in Gayfer goal fest
NORTHERN Knights continued their perfect start to the Talent League season, notching a fifth consecutive win after thumping the GWV Rebels by 63 points in Ballarat on Sunday. The visitors trailed at half time but piled on seven unanswered goals in term three, including five from spearhead Sam Gayfer. Gayfer ended up with six majors […]
2026 Talent League Girls Player Focus: Molly Ferguson (Brisbane Lions Academy)
MOLLY Ferguson entered 2026 as arguably the most unlucky player to miss the National Academy – a slick inside midfielder who is a ‘plug-and-play stoppage expert’ with the work rate and fight of her idol Belle Dawes. Against Sandringham Dragons in Round 5, she produced her most complete performance of the season to-date, collecting 31 […]
2026 Talent League Girls R5 notes: Murray Bushrangers vs Giants Academy
THE GWS Giants Academy produced a dominant display at Lavington Oval, running over Murray Bushrangers 11.12 (78) to 3.3 (21) in Round 5 of the Talent League Girls, with a five-goal final term blowing the margin out to 57 points. We took note of some of the players from each side that caught the eye.
2026 Talent League Girls R5 notes: Northern Territory Academy vs. Bendigo Pioneers
BENDIGO Pioneers claimed their first win of the season in Darwin, overcoming the Northern Territory Academy 6.7 (43) to 3.4 (22) in Round 5 of the Talent League Girls – the NT’s first game of the competition. A balanced Pioneers outfit proved too experienced for the home side across four quarters, kicking three goals to […]
2026 Talent League Girls R5 notes: Gippsland Power vs. Eastern Ranges
A WET Morwell Recreation Reserve set the scene for a grinding contest, with Eastern Ranges running out 7.13 (55) to 1.10 (16) winners over Gippsland Power in Round 5 of the Talent League Girls. The Power kicked the opening goal before the Ranges took over, booting the last seven majors in conditions that made clean […]
Academy storms to victory with big Blues win
KICKING 10 of their 14 goals at either end of the game, the AFLW National Academy took care of Carlton VFLW in a highly entertaining exhibition match at Ikon Park yesterday. The top AFLW Draft prospects for 2026 – albeit with a handful missing due to injury – put on a show, and while inaccuracy […]
National Academy side named for Blues battle
AUSTRALIA’S top young AFLW Draft hopefuls will take on Carlton VFLW in the first clash against a senior opposition since 2018. The National Academy will face the Blues at the opposition’s spiritual home of Ikon Park on Sunday, breaking the drought of consecutive years against a ‘best-of-the-rest’ setup against an All-Stars team. With those results […]
Scouting Notes: 2026 AFL Academy vs. North Melbourne VFL
GEELONG Falcons midfielder Noah Williams was named best on ground as the AFL Academy was soundly beaten in the first of its two showcase games for 2026. The Under 18 outfit went down by 71 points to a clinical North Melbourne VFL side at Arden Street Oval on Sunday. The Roos stormed out of the […]
SANFLW edge out VFLW in two-point battle
AFTER going down to the Vics a year earlier, South Australia’s top female talent has triumphed in a two-point nail-biter in 2026. The SANFLW ground past the VFLW 3.4 (22) to 2.8 (20), making more of their seven scoring shots compared to their opponents 10 in victory at Stratarama Stadium. The game was part of […]
First portion of VFL/W fixtures released
A NEW era of Victorian state league football will take place in 2026, following the announcement of the first fixtures from the VFL and VFLW competitions. The fixture release – which was announced yesterday – included the first 13 rounds of the VFL, and the opening six rounds of the VFLW. >> FULL FIXTURES Alongside […]
Tasmania confirms inaugural VFLW squad
TASMANIA Devils have locked in their VFL Women’s squad for the upcoming 2026 season, confirming the 38-player roster via Instagram yesterday. The squad will feature a host of local players including ex-AFLW talents who are returning to state league level, as well as some interstate draft hopefuls from across the country. >> SCROLL for the […]
Recruitment drive: Standalone Sandringham’s signing spree
THERE’S something in the water down at Sandringham. The bayside club will enter standalone status for the first time this century in 2026, having ended its AFL alignment to St Kilda. With close ties to community clubs and stakeholders, and nearly of 100 years of history, the Zebras have embarked on a monumental list build. […]
Hodder embraces “absolutely crazy” rise
FROM a player who only started taking footy seriously over the last couple of seasons, Grace Hodder‘s meteoric rise from fringe VFLW player to star Sandringham Zebras midfielder has been one of the ages. By her own admission, she never a natural runner, but when she set her sights on getting as far as she […]
Tregellis “absolutely” still chasing AFLW dream
A LATE bloomer to the sub-elite junior footballing pathways, Abbey Tregellis has never lost the hunger to reach the AFL Women’s. Overlooked as a top-ager and over-ager at the Dandenong Stingrays, then a third draft went by without result after a successful year at the Southern Saints and now, off the back of her best […]
Janschek puts netball “on hold” to chase footy dream
A RISING star in the netball world, Yasmeen Janschek got a taste for what Australian rules football had to offer and has instead opted to pursue the code professionally. A member of the New South Wales Under 19s squad and talented defender, Janschek ran out for the Giants Academy, Sandringham VFLW, North Shore Bombers and […]