A look back at the first AFLW draft.

February 26, 2022, 04:44:42 pm

So talking about comings and going from our AFLW list had me thinking. How well did we do from the original draft and how many players are still playing footy, both here and elsewhere.

So looking at players drafted by Carlton.
Pick # - Player - Where are they now?
3 - Bianca Jakobsson - Now at St. Kilda, after spending 3 years at Melbourne, we only got 1 year from here before trading her out.
14 - Kate Gillespie-Jones - Now, delisted. Previously spent 3 years at NM, after 2 years with us.
19 - Sarah Hosking - Now, Richmond. Famoulsy walked away 2 years ago despite being part of the leadership group.
30 - Gab Pound - Still with us, still going strong. Only 27 and at least a few years left.
35 - Danielle Hardiman - Now at NM. Spent 2 years with us before being poached by the kangas during the expansion with KGJ.
46 - Shae Audley - Now, retired. She played 16 games with us over 3 seasons and never played elsewhere.
51 - Bella Ayre - Was part of the trade to Brisbane for Tayla Harris, but was delisted after only 2 years.
62 - Lauren Brazzale - Still on the list having played 36 games thus far. Recently found herself in/out of the side. Currently, 28 with suspect form.
67 - Breann Moody - Still on our list and dominating. By her own admission, she felt out of place and was just making up the numbers initially. Developed into the premier ruck of the competition.
78 - Jess Hosking - Now at Richmond after following her twin out the door 12 months later.
83 - Natalie Plane - Part of the heart and soul of the club. Still giving her all for her club and teammates.
94 - Sarah Last - Delisted after 2 years at the club, she did not find another club.
99 - Tilly Lucas-Rodd - Now at St.Kilda after following her GF Bri Davey out the door after our GF loss in 2019.
110 - Katie Loynes - GWS. An inspired pick and former captain left us last year for GWS after not being offered a contract. Turning 36 next month.
115 - Madeline Keryk - Now at the Cats where she was drafted after being delisted by us after 2 years at the club.
126 - Kate Darby - Now also at the Cats. Delisted after 1 year with us. Spent a year out of the game before being redrafed by Geelong.
129 - Alison Downie - The 37yo is playing her first season at Collingwood after not being offered a contract with us in the off-season.
140 - Laura Attard - Delisted after 2 seasons with us. Did not find another club after that.
142 - Rebecca Privitelli - Now at GWS. Was delisted after 1 season with us, GWS drafted her as a free agent and she remains there to this day.

Thats the 19 players we took during the draft.

We also had access to players through a variety of other pathways....
Marquee player - Bri Davey - Now co-captain at Collingwood (with another ex baggers tragic) after walking out on us while she was our captain.
Marquee player - Darcy Vescio - Still at the club, still surprising us. Whether its with goals kicked or gender identified as. Darcy has it all.
Priority player - Lauren Arnell - Retired after 3 years with Lions after being our inaugural captain.
Rookie player - Nat Exon - Now at St. Kilda, after being part of the Harris trade to the Lions. Only spent a year with us, but showed plenty of heart.
Rookie player - Kate Shierlaw - Now at St. Kilda. Delisted after 2 years at the club (at her request i believe), was named Co-captain at the saints.
Free agent - Jess Kennedy - Delisted after only a year on the list, she was never picked up elsewhere.
Free agent - Hayley Trevean - Delisted after only a year. Spent a year in the VFLW before being picked up by Geelong for a year before being delisted again.
Free agent - Alison Brown. First year at Melbourne. Only 1 year with us before being out of the game for 2 years before being drafted to saints where she spent the last 2 years.

Overall, i think we picked pretty well.
There are 5 current players who was apart of our original list.
There are 13 additional players who was on our original list that are still in the AFLW but are playing for other teams.

The following players are now on our list after originally being put on another AFLW list in season 1.
Priority player - Jess Dal Pos - Drafted by GWS, she joined us for this season.
6 - Nicola Stevens - Drafted by Collingwood where she spent just 1 season before joining us and becoming a staple since.
8 - Elise O'Dea - Drafted by Melbourne. Is in her second season with us now.

So 8 players from the original draft period are on our current list of 30.
From the 18 players we drafted in that original draft period that are still playing footy, only 5 are still playing in Navy Blue.
While that number is somewhat alarming. When you take into account the number of additional teams in the game now, and if those teams would actually make our 21 now, its not nearly as bad as it appears.

But, 18 from our original 30 still playing should be seen as a good effort from our original recruiters.