When the AFL announced a game to be comprised of the best 50 women players in Australia, a lot of people applauded this decision.
The game will coincide with Women’s Round and is a great initiative that both the Melbourne and Western Bulldogs Football clubs should be proud of.
The teams will play for the Hampson-Hardeman Cup, which recognises Barb Hampson and Lisa Hardeman, pioneers in developing the first women’s championships in 1998.
It’s a step forward for the AFL which is trying to grow the game among the female community, with the game being a stepping stone to a national competition for the women which is hoping to be launched in 2020.
Until then hopefully an annual game during women’s round should be a fixture so that the best female footballers can showcase their talents.
The players involved will benefit greatly from the exposure this will give them.
The Melbourne Demons players will be trying to get sponsorships, with the money raised going directly to the players involved in the game.
The first women’s draft was a great success with a toss of the coin before the start of the draft deciding who would pick first (with the Demons winning).
The occasion was marked by AFL commissioner Linda Dessau announcing the top 10 players to the crowd and an audience around the country via an online stream.
Of the 50 players selected 10 are from a team known as the Darebin Falcons, this includes highly talented first draft pick Daisy Pearce who is no stranger to the spotlight.
Pearce leads the way for female athletes of the sport and her record speaks for itself. She captained the Victorian U/19s at the AFL Women’s National Championships in July 2007.
She was named in the All-Australian team and was also applauded for her efforts during the week-long carnival with the joint-player of the tournament award, as she led the Victorians to a State championship with a 47-point rout of South Australia.
She also played in an EJ Whitten Legends game in 2007 and recently she led Victoria to its 12th consecutive state title with All Australian honours once again.
Her team Darebin is currently undefeated in the Victorian Women’s Football League with a percentage of 542.65, they sit a comfortable 12 points clear of second-placed Diamond Creek.
Courtney Gum from NSW won the Debbie Lee Medal for Division One best and fairest at the recent Women’s State Carnival, seemingly an underrated player who was taken at pick 25.
Youngster Alexandra Price also gets the nod, playing for Port Adelaide under 18’s her goal kicking feats are not to be underestimated.
Currently she is the second highest goal kicker in Australia behind Aaron Purcell; Price has put through an astounding 89 goals in nine games at just under 10 goals a game.
This includes her run of six games straight where she kicked 10 or more goals; the youngster was a bargain pick for the Demons at pick 47, although because she is younger she may not feature as heavily, she surely does have a future.
Of the 50 players selected, 13 of them made the All Australian squad at the recent championships held in Cairns. With all of the top 10 gaining All Australian honours bar one, with pick eight Katie Loynes being unfortunate not to get the nod.
Being a curtain raiser before the men’s game and will give most of these players their first opportunity to play in a big stadium, with plenty of talent on display the game will surely be of a high standard and will be a great advertisement for the women’s game.
Gaining knowledge from AFL players Jack Grimes and Shaun Higgins, who have both thrown themselves in the ring for an assistant coaching spot, will be a valuable resource to the development of the players.
The game should be an interesting one with the Bulldogs team comprising of a core group of Darebin Falcons players, however Melbourne has the countries best female footballer at their disposal and an All Australian ruckman.
It will be interesting to see how the group of players’ gel together; surely having a majority of players from the countries best team would have to help the Bulldogs?
Predicting this one will be tough, so either team to win it by under 10 points is what I am going with. Find below the entire list of players in draft order and what club they are from.
2013 AFL Women’s Game – Draft
Number 1: Daisy Pearce (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 2: Steph Chiocci (Diamond Creek, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 3: Chelsea Randall (Swan Districts, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 4: Aasta O’Connor (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 5: Kara Donnellan (Swan Districts, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 6: Karen Paxman (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 7: Kirby Bentley (East Fremantle, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 8: Katie Loynes (Diamond Creek, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 9: Lou Wotton (Eastern Devils, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 10: Emma Kearney (Melbourne Uni, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 11: Mel Hickey (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 12: Lauren Arnell (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 13: Ellie Blackburn (Beaconsfield, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 14: Rebecca Privitelli (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 15: Mel Caulfield (East Fremantle, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 16: Elsie O’Dea (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 17: Jasmine Garner (St Kilda Sharks, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 18: Nicola Stevens (Melbourne Uni, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 19: Kiara Bowers (Coastal Titans, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 20: Natalia Thomas (Yeronga,Queensland) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 21: Madeline Keryk (VU St Albans Spurs, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 22: Katie Brennan (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 23: Bree White Club (VU St Albans Spurs, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 24: Leah Mascall (Coastal Titans, WA) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 25: Courtney Gum (UNSW-ES, NSW) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 26: Louise Stephenson (Melbourne Uni, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 27: Alicia Eva (Melbourne Uni, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 28: Kate Lukins (Yeronga,Queensland) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 29: Emma Swanson (Peel Thunderbirds, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 30: Lauren Spark (Melbourne Uni, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 31: Brooke Whyte (Coastal Titans, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 32: Kira Phillips (Peel Thunderbirds, WA) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 33: Bianca Jakobson (Berwick, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 34: Sarah D’Arcy (Eastern Devils, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 35: Jennifer Lew (Sydney Uni, NSW) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 36: Ally Anderson (Zilmere,Queensland) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 37: Leah Kaslar (Palm Beach Currumbin,Queensland) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 38: Courtney Cramey (Morphetville Park, SA) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 39: Kaitlyn Ashmore (Melbourne Uni, Vic) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 40: Jenna Brunton (Ballarat Youth Girls, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 41: Rene Forth (Coastal Titans, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 42: Penny Cula-Reid (St Kilda Sharks, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 43: Stephanie Walding (East Fremantle, WA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 44: Emily Bates (Yeronga,Queensland) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 45: Amy Catterall (St Kilda Sharks, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 46: Jess Dal Pos (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 47: Alexandra Price (Port Adelaide, SA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 48: Kellie Marie Gibson (Swan Districs, WA) drafted by Western Bulldogs
Number 49: Bronwyn Davey (Greenacres, SA) drafted by Melbourne FC
Number 50: Natalie Wood (Darebin Falcons, Vic) drafted by Western Bulldogs
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