{"id":210656,"date":"2026-03-25T15:39:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=210656"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:39:43","slug":"2026-talent-league-girls-preview-sandringham-dragons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2026\/03\/25\/2026-talent-league-girls-preview-sandringham-dragons\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Talent League Girls preview: Sandringham Dragons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>AFTER running through the Northern Academy sides ahead of the 2026 Coates Talent League Girls season, we cross our attention to the full-time teams in the competition, kicking off with Sandringham Dragons. The Dragons have lost a star talent to injury for the year, which provides opportunities to others to stand up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-last-season\">LAST SEASON<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Played:<\/strong> 14<br><strong>Wins:<\/strong> 8<br><strong>Losses: <\/strong>6<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sandringham Dragons finished eighth last season to earn a spot in the finals series and finish third. While no match for Oakleigh Chargers in the finals, they showed improvement on the year before, and with a positive win-loss record showed plenty to build on for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fixture\">FIXTURE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Round 2:<\/strong> vs. Calder Cannons | April 11 @ RSEA Park<br><strong>Round 3:<\/strong> vs. Oakleigh Chargers | April 18 @ Kennedy Community Centre<br><strong>Round 4: <\/strong>vs. Northern Knights | April 25 @ Preston City Oval<br><strong>Round 5:<\/strong> vs. Brisbane Lions Academy | May 3 @ South Pine Sporting Complex<br><strong>Round 6:<\/strong> vs. Oakleigh Chargers | May 9 @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval<br><strong>Round 10: <\/strong>vs. Northern Knights | June 7 @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval<br><strong>Round 11: <\/strong>vs. Eastern Ranges | June 13 @ Box Hill City Oval<br><strong>Round 13: <\/strong>vs. Calder Cannons | June 28 @ Highgate Recreation Reserve<br><strong>Round 15: <\/strong>vs. Western Jets | July 12 @ Avalon Airport Oval<br><strong>Round 16: <\/strong>vs. Tasmania Devils | July 19 @ TBA<br><strong>Round 17: <\/strong>vs. GWV Rebels | July 26 @ Mars Stadium<br><strong>Round 18:<\/strong> vs. Gippsland Power | August 1 @ Morwell Recreation Reserve<br><strong>Round 20: <\/strong>vs. Geelong Falcons | August 16 @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval<br><strong>Round 21: <\/strong>vs. Dandenong Stingrays | August 22 @ TBA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sandringham takes on all the Metro teams across the first 15 rounds, including the likes of Oakleigh Chargers, Northern Knights and Calder Cannons all twice. The Dragons first take on a full-time non-metropolitan member on July 19 where they tackles Tasmania Devils, before facing fourth country teams but never facing Murray Bushrangers or Bendigo Pioneers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-top-age-players-to-watch\">TOP-AGE PLAYERS TO WATCH<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The heartbreak story late last season was talented bottom-ager <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"152080\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/chloe-williams-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chloe Williams<\/a> going down with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and will miss a large portion of the season in 2026. She has enormous talent and can play on any line, so no doubt clubs will still keep tabs on her recovery and hope to see her in the back-end of her top-age campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sandringham Dragons have a couple of top-age Vic Metro Summer Hub members in the tenacious <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"152082\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/grace-perrett\/\" target=\"_blank\">Grace Perrett<\/a> and hard-running <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"185453\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/grace-mcintyre\/\" target=\"_blank\">Grace McIntyre<\/a>. The duo are among a group of handy players who have draftable traits but just need to round out their game including smart defender <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"185459\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/isla-tucker\/\" target=\"_blank\">Isla Tucker<\/a> and explosive athlete <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"152079\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/chloe-shipton\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chloe Shipton<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-128x85.jpg 128w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD-32x21.jpg 32w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Isla-Tucker-SD.jpg 1944w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Isla Tucker is a smart rebounding defender for the Dragons. Image credit: Rookie Me Central<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-future-names-to-remember\">FUTURE NAMES TO REMEMBER<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While currently injured, <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"185482\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/maya-duane\/\" target=\"_blank\">Maya Duane<\/a> is right up there with the best players from the 2009-born draft crop. The tall midfielder\/forward has an incredible ability to create highlights out of nothing, and is so hard to beat in the air or at ground level. When she returns she will add serious X-factor to the front half of the ground for the Dragons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On top of Duane, <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"185458\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/claudia-kogler\/\" target=\"_blank\">Claudia Kogler<\/a> spent a stack of time on-ball and is just as highly rated internally for her upside but like Williams is also out for the year.. She alongside rebounding defender <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"185455\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/charlotte-embelton\/\" target=\"_blank\">Charlotte Embelton<\/a> &#8211; who had a massive game in last year&#8217;s elimination final loss &#8211; are two to note down for next season. Then there&#8217;s <strong>Luella Hall <\/strong>who is coming off a blistering Talent League Girls Preseason Testing event where she broke the 20m sprint record, but she still has a couple of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-summary\">SUMMARY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sandringham Dragons are unfortunately missing three of their best players to injury to start the season in Williams, Kogler and Duane, with Williams likely to miss the bulk of it. That disappointment does however give opportunities to others to stand up, with the Dragons in a strong and growing development region. They&#8217;ll likely land somewhere in the second half of the ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-dc-block-dc-mention _dc_mention\"><div class=\"section-heading_wrap\"><span class=\"section-heading is-small\">Mentions<\/span><span class=\"hor-border\"><\/span><\/div><ul class=\"js-overflow-list overflow-list\"><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/chloe-williams-2\/\">Chloe Williams<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/grace-perrett\/\">Grace Perrett<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/grace-mcintyre\/\">Grace McIntyre<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/isla-tucker\/\">Isla Tucker<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/chloe-shipton\/\">Chloe Shipton<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/maya-duane\/\">Maya Duane<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/claudia-kogler\/\">Claudia Kogler<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/charlotte-embelton\/\">Charlotte Embelton<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"js-dropdown dropdown overflowed\"><button class=\"btn btn-icon-only\"><span class=\"icon btn-icon\">\n                    <!-- icon - plus circle - 20px-->\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\">\n                        <path d=\"M15,9.28h-4.3V5h0A.72.72,0,1,0,9.28,5h0V9.28H5a.72.72,0,0,0,0,1.43H9.28V15a.72.72,0,0,0,1.43,0h0V10.71H15a.72.72,0,0,0,0-1.43Z\"\/>\n                        <path d=\"M10,0A10,10,0,1,0,20,10,10,10,0,0,0,10,0Zm0,18.57A8.57,8.57,0,0,1,10,1.43h0a8.57,8.57,0,0,1,0,17.14Z\"\/>\n                    <\/svg>\n                <\/span><\/button><div class=\"popover\"><div class=\"popover-content\"><ul class=\"popover-menu\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AFTER running through the Northern Academy sides ahead of the 2026 Coates Talent League Girls season, we cross our attention to the full-time teams in the competition, kicking off with Sandringham Dragons. The Dragons have lost a star talent to injury for the year, which provides opportunities to others to stand up. LAST SEASON Played: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":210663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14920,8,18223,20258,18234,3134,137],"tags":[22560,21465,20560,22734,22534,21914,22439,21020],"class_list":["post-210656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aflw-draft","category-news","category-sandringham-dragons-girls","category-talent-league-girls","category-team-preview","category-victoria","category-womens","tag-charlotte-embelton","tag-chloe-shipton","tag-chloe-williams","tag-claudia-kogler","tag-grace-mcintyre","tag-grace-perrett","tag-isla-tucker","tag-maya-duane"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210656"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210722,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210656\/revisions\/210722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}