Geelong re-drafted inaugural ruck Erin Hoare (Picture: Geelong Football Club)
With the first and only AFLW Supplementary Draft taking place on Tuesday night, The Inner Sanctum looked at which clubs used their picks and who they selected.
Adelaide Crows
Pick 26- Yvonne Bonner – GWS Giants (2019-2020)
Making her debut in the 2019 season for the Giants, Gaelic football star Yvonne Bonner ended up playing 11 games in her two seasons at Greater Western Sydney.
Playing Gaelic football for Donegal last year, Bonner is primed to return to Australian Rules Football after she returned home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bonner will be invaluable to the Crows down forward, boasting a nearly a goal, a game record. Supporting the likes of Danielle Ponter, Abbie Ballard and Caitlin Gould, in the forwardline, she will be a potent force at Adelaide.
Madeline Irwin
Brisbane Lions
Pick 16- Poppy Boltz – Southport Sharks QAFLW
A former member of the SUNS Academy, Poppy Boltz is a medium-sized midfielder that is known for her toughness and her physicality.
Playing in the QAFLW for the Southport Sharks last season, Boltz was named in Team of the Year coming off last season’s Best and Fairest award won in the Cairn’s Women’s competition.
Boltz will benefit from more midfield time being available to the younger Lions after the departure of Emily Bates.
Madeline Irwin
Carlton Blues
Pick 5- Lulu Beatty – Northern Knights Coates Talent League Girls
After a foot injury derailed her hopes at being drafted last season, Lulu Beatty was finally selected just two days before her 19th birthday at the 2023 Supplementary Draft. After losing star player and club champion Lucy McEvoy to the Swans during the Priority Signing Period, the Blues will be keen to add the courageous and hard-working midfielder to the squad. At 171cm, Beatty has also been effective when used in the forward and back lines, and provides new coach Mathew Buck with a versatile threat.
Pick 9- Madeline Hendrie – Footscray Bulldogs VFLW
At 180cm tall, 19-year-old Madeline Hendrie is a natural ruck and tall forward, boasting elite overhead marking skills. As a cross-country runner, Hendrie also possesses elite fitness. The club has indicated Hendrie will be mentored by current rucks Brea Moody and Jess Good, and were impressed by Hendrie’s commitment to improve her craft by moving from Sydney to Melbourne.
Pick 19- Marianna Anthony – North Melbourne VFLW
It’s been quite the year for 25-year-old Marianna Anthony. The winger was part of the 2022 Essendon VFLW premiership team, and is a cross-code athlete, having played for various teams in NPL Victoria. Carlton’s recruitment team sees her as playing either as an inside or outside midfielder, or as a half-back, and were impressed with her tenacious competitiveness.
Pick 25- Chloe Wrigley – Peel Thunder WAFLW
Last weekend, 23-year-old Chloe Wrigley put on a show in the WAFLW, amassing 23 disposals and 17 tackles. The inside midfielder has racked up 50 games in WAFLW competition and will be keen to establish herself as an AFLW player with the Blues. Her tenacity both on the ball and towards her opponent in the contest are features of her game that Carlton couldn’t ignore.
Gordon Goodenough
Collingwood Magpies
Pick 13- Eleri Morris – Collingwood VFLW
The New South Wales local will be bringing the x-factor following the Pies selection of Morris. A mobile forward, Morris is a proven goal-scorer. Her stint with the Inner West Magpies saw her make 19 goals across her 13 appearances in the AFL Sydney League. The mature-ager brings with her consistency and has a strong presence in the air.
Pick 14- Selena Karlson – Collingwood VFLW
The 24-year-old will be getting a third opportunity at AFLW level, after Collingwood swooped on Karlson as their final pick of the draft. Formerly with the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda, the defender will be a great addition for the Pies given her reliability, leadership and her ability to make decisions under pressure.
Ashleigh Matosevic
Fremantle Dockers
Pick 3- Tahleah Mulder – South Fremantle WAFLW
Tahleah Mulder capped off a remarkable rapid rise on Tuesday night by landing at Fremantle. The 21-year-old was playing amateur football for Piara Waters last year before joining the WAFLW this season, where she has made an immediate impact.
Mulder has only played four games at state league level for South Fremantle, but that’s all the Dockers needed to see to decide she deserved a spot on their list. It’s easy to see why, with the inside midfielder currently averaging 18 disposals and six tackles a game and leading the league in contested possessions, clearances and inside 50s.
Mulder wins the ball at the contest, is a tough match-up for opponents at stoppages and uses her speed to break lines and set up her teammates further up the ground.
Pick 7- Emmelie Fiedler – East Fremantle WAFLW
The Dockers bolstered their tall stocks by drafting emerging 187cm ruck Emmelie Fiedler, who is currently shining at state league level where she leads the WAFLW in hit outs.
The volleyball product has shown continued improvement since picking up Australian rules football, impressing with her tap work and ability to cover the ground. The 21-year-old will provide support for fellow young ruck Mim Strom, who has shouldered those duties since she was drafted in 2019.
Fielder fills an immediate need for Fremantle given its lack of talls, while also being a high upside pick with room to grow and develop as a player.
Pick 17- Jae Flynn – East Fremantle WAFLW
The Dockers added plenty of run and smart decision-making skills to their list when they picked up East Fremantle’s Jae Flynn. Boasting a basketball background, the 24-year-old is an outside player with the ability to play on the wing or off half-back. Flynn has been averaging 15 disposals a game this season in the WAFLW, where she’s displayed great athleticism and strong composure with ball in hand. She has previously been on the Dockers’ radar after she was a train-on player at the club last season.
Pick 21-Joanne Cregg – Subiaco WAFLW
The AFLW’s latest Irish success story, Cregg brings a Gaelic background and plenty of excitement from her limited exposure at state league level. Cregg relocated from Ireland last year to play Australian rules Football for Wembley, where she was named best on ground in its CTF B Grade premiership.
She made the step up to play WAFLW with Subiaco this season, where she’s been averaging 16 disposals and four clearances a game. Despite only playing four WAFLW games so far and being 29 years old, Cregg’s ability around stoppages, strong running and deadly kicking were too good for Fremantle to overlook. She has mainly played as a midfielder throughout her short career, but has also shown the capacity to move forward.
Hamish Spence
Geelong Cats
Pick 1: Erin Hoare – St Marys AFL Barwon FNL
It’s a homecoming four years in the making, as Hoare is set to return to the cattery for the first time since 2019. The 194cm colossus is the tallest player to ever grace an AFLW field, and the 33-year-old ruck has plenty left to give.
Geelong need a ruck, with Samantha Gooden unavailable for season eight, they approached Hoare in January to gauge interest in returning. When Sydney contacted Geelong in March offering the top pick in the Supplementary Draft in exchange for Laura Gardiner, everything fell into place. Cats fans will be keen to see the netball-academic-AFLW triple threat in action next season, opposition rucks will not.
Gordon Goodenough
Gold Coast Suns
Pick 6- Cara McCrossan – Casey Demons VFLW
The Suns have bolstered their team with the addition of the Irish talent. A prolific ball-winner and versatile, Gold Coast will benefit from the small forward. She has just come off the back of a dominant VFLW campaign with the Demons, where she averaged 11.2 disposals per game. A former Gaelic Footballer, McCrossan is also known for her defensive flair and tackling pressure that she’ll be looking to bring over to the Gold Coast.
Pick 10- Meara Girvan – Bond University AFC
Gold Coast have snagged a hidden gem with the selection of the 25-year-old. Girvan will be joining the side with SANFL and more recently, QAFLW experience under her belt. Equipped with a background in netball, the 176cm defender brings with her strong on-field decision making.
Ashleigh Matosevic
GWS Giants
Pick 8- Caitlin Miller – Southport Sharks QAFLW
Versatility is a valuable trait in AFLW, and the GWS Giants added exactly that in 18-year-old Caitlin Miller, who can play across all three lines. The former Gold Coast Suns academy player will be keen to showcase her tenacity in the contest and footy smarts on the biggest stage in AFLW season eight.
Pick 22- Annise Bradfield – Gold Coast Suns AFLW
20-year-old Annise Bradfield is only three years removed from being the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NAB AFLW Draft. Bradfield was the second player GWS nabbed from the sunshine state, and although her career was derailed by an early ACL injury, when healthy she will provide a potent running option for Giants coach Cam Bernasconi. At 172cm, Bradfield will provide some much needed height in the midfield, according to the GWS recruitment team.
Gordon Goodenough
Hawthorn
Pick 4- Mattea Breed – North Adelaide SANFL
Standing at 173cm tall, 21-year-old Mattea Breed possesses an elite vertical leap and has spent time in the ruck and forward line. She has taken a little longer to develop, however, Breed oozes potential, and can present a mobile and aerial target up front. If she can improve on her accuracy in front of goal, Breed could provide a potent bite in the forward line for the Hawks for years to come.
Pick 18- Kristy Stratton – Box Hill Hawks VFLW
28-year-old Kirsty Stratton has spent time on the fringes of AFLW, not quite able to establish herself with Collingwood, and just missing out on cracking the Hawks lineup last year. Having come from an athletic background, she has shown flashes of brilliance and an ability to read the game, but will need to improve her fitness to make an impact with the Hawks this season. Her reaction to being selected is even more poignant considering her determined fight to make it back to the highest level.
Gordon Goodenough
North Melbourne
Pick 23- Ruby Tripodi – Williamstown VFLW
After impressing for the last couple of years, talented midfielder Ruby Tripodi got her chance at North Melbourne. The 21-year-old has won back-to-back best and fairests at Williamstown, where she announced herself as one of the VFLW’s most exciting players.
Tripodi stands out with her ability to win the ball at the contest, where she combines her skills and power with a strong pressure game. She has also shown an ability to play forward, where she is arguably more likely to make an immediate impact given the Kangaroos’ current midfield depth.
Hamish Spence
Port Adelaide
Pick 2- Jasmin Stewart- Claremont WAFLW
Playing four seasons of AFLW football at Fremantle, Jasmin Stewart comes to Port Adelaide as a 24-year-old midfielder with more experience.
Taking a step away from sport in 2022, she returned to Claremont where she won the Best on Ground Medal in her side’s premiership win. She amassed 29 disposals, eight tackles and three inside 50s on that day.
Stewart will be a great addition to Port Adelaide’s young midfield with a bigger body and more experience able to help teach the likes of Hannah Ewings and Abbey Dowrick.
Pick 12-Katelyn Pope-North Adelaide SANFLW
Signed as an injury replacement for the West Coast Eagles in 2021, Katelyn Pope was taken by Port Adelaide with their second pick.
Playing in North Adelaide’s Premiership in 2022, she has had an eye-catching start to the 2023 season, averaging 20 disposals from six games played.
She is a quick but classy midfielder that uses her natural running ability to burst off opponents. Pope is no stranger to the club, having been invited as a training partner last season.
Pick 15- Georgie Jacques-Norwood SANFLW
Port Adelaide were clearly targeting ruck depth/key position players with the acquisitions of Ash Woodland and Janelle Cuthbertson but it is the young ruck Georgie Jacques that may be a key player in the future.
Still developing her game in the SANFLW for Norwood, Jacques is a tall that plays as a ruck or a defender. She relocated herself from Canberra due to the strength of the South Australian league and now she might be elevated onto the national stage.
Madeline Irwin
Richmond Tigers
Pick 24-Shelby Knoll – Casey Demons VFLW
At 178cm, 22-year-old Shelby Knoll presents a formidable presence in the forward lines. Last year, at Castlemaine, Knoll kicked an impressive 52 goals in 16 games, which included a nine-goal masterclass. Richmond sees Knoll as being a part of its forward lines in the future, and will nurture her development within the Tiger’s system.
Gordon Goodenough
St Kilda
Pick 20- Beth Pinchin – Southern Saints VFLW
The Saints bolstered their backline by adding experienced key defender Beth Pinchin, who has overcome numerous setbacks to get her opportunity. The 26-year-old is a former U18 All-Australian, but she has been restricted by numerous knee injuries throughout her journey. The Coolangatta product was previously signed by Brisbane as an injury replacement player for the 2021 season, but her campaign was derailed by a ruptured ACL. Pinchin already has a connection with St Kilda after moving down to Melbourne earlier this year to play for its VFLW affiliate, the Southern Saints. The 175cm defender should bring strong overhead marking and good decision-making with ball in hand to Moorabbin.
Hamish Spence
Western Bulldogs
Pick 11- Dominique Carruthers- Western Bulldogs VFLW/ North Shore Bombers (AFL Sydney)
Previously a train on player for both the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants, Dominique Carruthers is set to add much needed depth to the Bulldogs midfield. With the Bulldogs having needed another strong midfielder to help out the likes of Ellie Blackburn and Kirsty Lamb. Carruthers is a midfielder that has a great inside game, with the 27 year old having that tenacity that sees her more times then not being first to the footy and accumulating possessions. Coming from a soccer background, Carruthers also has high endurance levels which will be a real asset at AFLW level.
Whilst the Bulldogs passed their two remaining picks in the draft, they’ve since announced that Maggie Gorham (Formerly GWS Giants) and Brianna McFarlane (Formerly Brisbane) as unrestricted free agents to fill the final two list positions heading into 2023.
Elly McNerney
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