2024 AFLW Draft Player Profiles including highlights

[Pie 4 Life]

Hey everyone,

Noticed this forum has been a little dead this year and given the draft is less than two months away, I thought I'd share with you highlights and details about the top prospects. I'll keep the OP for threadmarks and links to the full profiles, but will post summaries in each individual post.

I'll be doing draft profiles on each of the players with AFLW Draft Combine invites, as well as a handful of others outside that group. As always Rookie Me Central's AFLW Draft Guide is coming at the start of December. But I'll share the profiles I've done with the key information here and if you choose to read them in full then great

AFLW Draft Profiles:

Ash Centra | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Havana Harris | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Zippy Fish | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Sophie McKay | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Mackenzie Williams | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Tatyana Perry | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Esther Schirmer | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS
Lou-Lou Field | FULL PROFILE | HIGHLIGHTS

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Ash Centra

DOB: 02/06/2006
Height: 176cm
Position: Tall Utility (Primarily mid/forward)
Club: Gippsland Power
State: Victoria

>> FULL PROFILE <<


SNAPSHOT: “Arguably the greatest and most consistent ball user to come through women’s football, Centra has a plethora of weapons highlighted by her clean hands, composure and vision with ball in hand.”

STRENGTHS:

• Clean hands
• Elite kicking
• Vision
• Decision making
• Production
• Composure
• Aerial ability
• Versatility

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Speed
• Set shot goalkicking

With Centra it is genuinely a case of where do you begin with her strengths? Her combination of clean hands and elite kicking is what sets her head and shoulders above the majority of players, and few would argue she is clearly the best Victorian prospect in this year's AFLW Draft.

Watching her highlights alone is enough to get a taste for what Centra is capable of, with a "bad game" not only few and far between, but still at a level that is higher than 90 per cent of other players. If you look at her two lowest production games at Talent League Girls, both come with excuses, not that Centra would ever use them.

In Round 3 against the Sydney Swans Academy, illness saw her have to stop after just over a quarter and three touches, while she was heavily tagged by Tasmania Devils in Round 11 when she still managed the 13 disposals at Shepley Oval. Taking out those two games, her next lowest disposal performance for the Power was 23 disposals against GWV Rebels in Round 15, and she still kicked two ripping goals.

Excluding the two bottom performances, Centra averaged 31.3 disposals per game at Coates Talent League Girls level, as well as 5.0 marks, 4.6 tackles and 3.5 inside 50s. While predominantly spending a 50/50 split between midfield and forward, there were times where Centra dropped into defence to be an intercepting force again as she had been in her bottom-age campaign.

A one-touch player both in the air and at ground level, Centra is a strong aerial player who can clunk some strong grabs even with contact coming her way. Off the deck, she can use a terrific low centre of gravity to swoop in collect the pill and spin out of a trouble. But unlike a lot of players who might pull out the party tricks for show, Centra can do all of that and still find a target in space and nail the kick under immense pressure.

Her vision is second to none, able to spot a needle in a haystack, and her split-second decision making is equally an incredible trait. Never flustered, Centra assesses the options in front of her like anyone, but does it at a rapid rate. Seldom will you ever see Centra hack kick from a stoppage or bomb away without looking. Each possession is calculated, and even in the odd occasion it does miss a target, usually there was merit to the decision.

Outside of her ball use, vision, composure and decision making, Centra is also an incredibly versatile player as shown by her career playing across all three lines. Coming through the Power pathway, Centra was always known as the player who could do magical things with ball in hand, but the main question mark was her understanding when not in possession.

At times she would look lackadasical to the lay person, but when digging deeper, it was more about still developing her understanding of off-ball work and positioning. That was what lead to the move to defence, and it naturally lifted her understanding of the game and reading of the play. It took her from a potential top prospect, to the leading Victorian one, and she remained so over the next 18 months.

While Centra's profile is among the best one can hope for, she too has areas that do not necessarily hold her back, but are further room for growth at times. The easier one to fix is her set shot goalkicking. For a star ball user who can pinpoint teammates in heavy traffic, it almost seems a little strange that when it comes to putting the ball through the big sticks with time on her side, she struggles.

However that is the case, with Centra leaving quite a few chances out there and while quite a few of her 17 behinds (to 18 goals) would have been from tough positions, she still missed a few that a player of her class should put away without any problems. That includes both close and medium range. It is an area that has come along a little because in her double bottom-age year, it was her Achilles heel as a forward, now it is more of a work in progress.

Aside from that, the other main element that Centra lacks compared to the modern-day star is speed, and while not slow, does not possess that explosive burst that so many midfielders come through the pathway with nowadays.

Though akin to Scott Pendlebury which is often attributed to "slowing time", Centra has the same trait, seemingly able to sidestep opponents and dance around them like they are not even there. When tackled, her composure and lightning quick decision making whips into action and she has the strength to still dispose of the ball cleanly.

Centra's agility is also very good, so while not having that breakaway speed, her skill to glide around and step through traffic allows her to not limit her in that regard. However it does open the door for opponents to place a heavy tag on her - as the Devils did at Talent League level - especially with a player who can match her strength and work rate. Expect her to learn plenty more tricks with how to deal with extra attention at the elite level, because a star of her quality will receive plenty.

DRAFT RANGE: 1-3

SUMMARY:

Ash Centra is a supremely talented player with some of the cleanest hands and well-rounded skillsets you are likely to find in a draftee. She has the height at 176cm, and is a proven performer on all three lines. Alongside the likes of other pick one contenders Havana Harris and Zippy Fish, Centra is a genuine superstar in the making, and would be the most likely to be taken with the first selection in this year’s AFLW Draft.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Havana Harris

DOB: 01/07/2006
Height: 182cm
Position: Key Utility (primarily ruck/midfield)
Club: Bond University / Gold Coast Suns Academy
State: Queensland

>> FULL PROFILE <<

STRENGTHS:

• Vertical leap
• Explosive speed
• Strength
• Versatility
• Penetrating kick
• Strength
• Groundballs

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Kicking precision
• Endurance

PROFILE:

The crux of Havana Harris' game centres around her athleticism. Focusing in on her jumping, Harris is arguably - though there is little doubt she is - one of the best vertical players in the draft crop. She dominated Preseason Testing up in Queensland with a 70cm running vertical jump, a number that would have won her the test at the National Draft Combine had she tested.

Whether it is flying for a mark or going up in a ruck contest, Harris' vertical leap is hard to match unless her opponent is an equally tall and athletic player (such as Davies). The Bond University star's athletic profile does not stop there though, with an explosive burst that should not be possible for a player of her height. Once she wins the ball and sees space, she takes off in a split second, and there are few who could run her down.

Harris backs herself to take on anyone with her speed, and she has grown almost a full centimetre since the preseason, so now stands at 182cm. Whether she is in the ruck or playing midfield, she is a nightmare for the opposition because of her breakaway speed.

One of the subtle moments of the championships came when Queensland faced Western Australia and Harris won the ball in a contest against fellow top star Zippy Fish. While Fish is regarded as one of the fastest - if not the fastest - players going around, Harris gave her the glance over the shoulder and still took off, creating separation almost instantly and being able to get her kick away.

Her first five metres are as quick as anyone's and would have narrowly pipped Fish based off her preseason score, at the National Draft Combine. Each of the players who marginally shaded her time, are sub-180cm. While her agility is still outstanding for her size, she is able to evade opponents through her strength and even when tackled, has the size to lift the arms and get a clean handball away.

That strength comes in handy in one-on-one marking situations and you can only imagine that as a defender trying to play on an opponent who might not only beat you in a wrestle, but if given front position, any chance of defending her is over on the lead. Harris will often spend time down forward, which is a role she predominantly played in her early years while pinch-hitting in the ruck.

Last season she spent more time through the ruck, and gradually developed more midfield minutes, with that split exactly what happened in 2024. Watching her lineup on Shineah Goody at a centre bounce 12 months ago - with almost 20cm difference between them sums up what Harris is capable of, and will be capable of at the elite level.

At ground level, Harris is clean and able to win first or second possession balls, or take it out of the ruck and just burst away. That variety in her game, and versatility in her positioning, makes her so unpredictable to the opposition. For a player who is so good in the air, Harris won more than half of her touches at Coates Talent League Girls level and just under 50 per cent at the national carnival, in a groundball situation.

Her hands are clean and effective and is able to pinpoint a target, while her booming kick can easily travel 50m, quite often providing plenty of highlights on the run such as her game-icing major against Vic Country. Her ability to launch from long-range is a weapon of hers, but she is unselfish as well, always looking for better options inside 50 and trying to put it to her teammate's advantage.

With time and space, Harris can hit targets well, while her main improvement will come from her kicking precision around the ground but particularly when under pressure. Because her kick is so long and penetrating, the distance it creates in itself is such an advantage for her side. Quite often it will go to the right area, without being completely pinpoint.

In saying that, her kicking is not something anyone would consider a weakness as such, but more an area that can be refined. When able to launch on goal or take grass bounding down the field with time to assess her options, Harris can be very damaging and it will be when the booming kicks out of stoppages under pressure or just taking distance can be refined a little more that it would be a near-complete effort.

The other are of improvement which again is more just a way to further develop, comes in Harris' endurance. She can run out games and play across multiple roles, but can still further improve her endurance which was rated 'average' compared to her peers. It is not anything that will hold her back as she has proven she can consistently impact across four quarters, but improving it further will only make her better.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Before I get too far in, is this all good Lore ? Put a lot of work into these (and believe the detail I'm posting here is quite a bit) so happy to share the bulk of the profiles here like above and if people choose to read more then fantastic.

 

[Vacuous Space]

Potentially stupid question - is Harris available to everyone?

 

[Lore]

Before I get too far in, is this all good Lore ? Put a lot of work into these (and believe the detail I'm posting here is quite a bit) so happy to share the bulk of the profiles here like above and if people choose to read more then fantastic.

Looks good to me

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Potentially stupid question - is Harris available to everyone?

So funny story. The players rhemselves aren’t 100% sure but I spoke to Havana about it and she said she believes it’s the same rule as the father-daughter matching which is within 18 picks of the bid. However she also said she is keen to move interstate, and for GC to match, she has to sign a form to say she’s happy for them to match if need be. Incredibly only six clubs interviewed her at the Draft Combine figuring she wanted to be at GC but she’s actually keen to move away. However also wouldn’t be unhappy to stay too. Lilly Baker was the same, keen to move interstate for an experience.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Zippy Fish

DOB: 04/06/2006
Height: 160cm
Position: Midfielder (can play half-back or wing)
Club: East Fremantle
State: Western Australia

>> FULL DRAFT PROFILE <<

STRENGTHS:

• Speed
• Athleticism
• Kicking
• Footy IQ
• Impact-per-possession
• Aerial ability
• Vision
• Big game player

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Contested work
• Strength

PROFILE:

As her name suggests, Zippy Fish has all the athletic traits that clubs love in a player. Her explosive speed, eye-catching agility and fantastic vertical leap make her the all-round package. She started her career as a running half-back at senior level, graduated up to a wing at times, then became a full-time onballer in 2024.

Fish's athletic traits alone would hold her in good stead and is deserving of being mentioned when discussing the first overall pick. Though she might not have the height of Havana Harris or Ash Centra, Fish has a great balance between the two, with the athletic and footballing traits that are dominant in each prospect respectively, neatly merged in the West Australian.

Her athleticism is evident to the eye, and her aerial ability for a 160cm player is almost a little ridiculous. She will clunk contested marks against taller opponents, fly for big grabs - even if she does not bring them down - and compete against most when given the space to leap. At ground level she is even more dangerous, because once the ball is in space, few could hold a candle to her pace.

Fish is regarded as one of the quickest players in this year's AFLW Draft crop, and clocking a sub-3.2-second 20m sprint is further evidence of her speed. She can pick up pace immediately once winning the ball and will often look for the one-two handball through traffic to get to the other side of a contest and breakdown the opposition defence.

At times she would explode out of the middle take a couple of bounces and launch from 50m for it to sail straight through the big sticks. When left unchecked all game, she completely dismantled teams in the WAFLW and while finding the going tougher at the national championships, worked her way into games after quieter first halves in her first two matches.

From a footballing perspective, Fish has all the tricks to hurt opposition sides both out of the middle and in transition. She can hit targets over short, medium and long distances, with her vision and decision making complimenting her execution. If not taking multiple bounces and taking grass, she is setting up teammates with release handballs, often in on-two situations.

By hand she is clean, and is as good of a second possession winner as there is in the draft crop. While she can win her own ball, the knock on her midfield craft comes in her contested work or being that first-possession winner. She is not the type of midfielder who will necessarily win the ball at the coalface and be feeding it out, rather being the one receiving from the get-and-go.

Fish's bread and butter is her ability to win handball receives and use her skill and speed combination to punish opposition teams. At the national championships, Fish won 52.5 per cent of her possessions from handball receives, the most of any player with more than one game to their name.

She will slot in well with a team who has established contested ball-winners but need that speed and class that Fish offers, with Collingwood and Carlton among the lower ranked Victorian sides, a state she has openly said she is eyeing off, while having three of the four northern teams also in her draft range.

Though she does not need to focus too heavily on building a contested game given her likely second-possession or outside role at the top level, it is an area that can round out her overall profile. She is also still light in frame and therefore can get bumped off the ball at times, though thrives on using her speed to mow down opponents.

Finally, Fish also has the ability to win the ball all over the ground and works hard both ways. Whether it is winning it out of defence, or going forward to find pockets of space and slot goals, the East Fremantle talent does it all.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Sophie McKay

DOB: 27/04/2006
Height: 167cm
Position: Midfielder/Forward
Club: Sandringham Dragons
State: Victoria

>> FULL PROFILE <<

STRENGTHS:

• Explosive speed
• Physicality
• Clearances
• Scoreboard impact
• Goal sense
• Big game player

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Defensive running
• Endurance

PROFILE:

Sophie McKay is an eye-catching prospect with explosive speed - that would be Top 10 across the nation in tests - being her greatest asset. Her ability to win the ball in close and extract it using brute strength to breakaway helps her gain extra time, along with the ability to get her hands free and fire off a handball.

That explosiveness does not just apply to straight line running, with the Carlton father-daughter prospect testing incredibly well through the agility test too, and it shows with her knack to side-step opponents and change directions on a dime.

McKay's power and strength is also observed when flying for overhead grabs, doing so exceptionally well for a medium-sized player at 167cm. Her marking numbers do not jump off the page, but she positions herself well to clunk some big grabs for her size, and can do it both contested and when finding pockets of space inside 50.

McKay's point of difference to a lot of other players is her incredible offensive ability, not just in regular games, but on the biggest of stages. She often goes to another level when playing against the best of the best, and her better games have come in the Under 17 Futures match, AFLW Academy and Vic Metro colours.

Around the stoppages, McKay is a consistent extractor of the ball, and averaged 4.3 clearances at AFLW Under 18 Championships level, and 5.2 clearances per match for the Dragons. She can have ebbs and flows at times with her consistency in-game, but her most consistent outings have come in those bigger matches.

Right now McKay's endurance is an area that is her main focus, especially after a major injury. Her athletic profile is among the best going around, but her aerobic capacity is one element that can take her game to another level, and will assist in helping that in-game consistency. She covers the front half of the ground well, and often rests forward to have an impact on the scoreboard there, but can improve her running behind the ball.

McKay's biggest area of improvement is her defensive running, and the potential Top 10 prospect is self aware in that regard. She joked in the preseason that she "probably couldn’t think of being anything worse than being a backman" and that she needed to work on her two-way running. That is still a flaw in her game, but her incredible offensive attributes help negate the lack of defensive ones when she is up and about.

Going forward, McKay has those areas to work on, but both are very manageable within an AFLW program. The lifelong Carlton supporter is sure to cost the Blues a first rounder, but given she is right amongst the Top 10 prospects in the AFLW Draft, Carlton will have not problems paying up to bring her to IKON Park where she has spent most of her footballing life.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Mackenzie Williams

DOB: 26/06/2006
Height: 171cm
Position: Tall Defender
Club: North Hobart/Tasmania Devils
State: Tasmania

>> FULL PROFILE <<

STRENGTHS:

• Competitiveness
• Reading the play
• Intercept marking
• One-on-ones
• Penetrating kick
• Consistency

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Kicking precision
• Endurance

PROFILE:

Mackenzie Williams is a player who has a well-rounded game with some clear strengths, and evident improvements that the talented Tasmanian has honed in on improving once at the top level. A tall defender who is perhaps slightly undersized compared to others at 171cm, Williams is ultra-competitive and can punch above her size thanks to her strength and one-on-one ability.

Williams is able to play both an offensive rebounding role from the back half of the ground just as easily as looking to negate an opposition defender. While unlikely to fill that number one defender role, she can certainly play as that third tall who has the smarts and understanding to peel off her opponent and give a chop out to her teammates, or float across to clunk some strong marks.

Even from the age of 15 it was evident Williams was a strong mark. She has averaged 3.8 marks across her 38 games in the Coates Talent League Girls and AFLW Under 18 Championships. She provides the defensive pressure both in the air and at ground level to force the ball to ground if she does not mark it, then often thumps the pill clear a mile down the ground.

Her ranging right foot kick can travel a good 50m from full-back, often able to clear the ball to the defensive side of the wing when kicking out, or past the zoning half-forwards from the opposition. The precision of said kicks could certainly improve, with that element of fundamentals being a key area of improvement for the defender. At times she can boot the ball for distance rather than accuracy, but on occasions that can pay off anyway. However, tightening up that aspect of her game will only make her a better player.

Athletically, Williams is not an explosive player, but she is powerful, and when she takes the ball on the move, can reach a decent top speed that is as much about power and strength as it is about speed. As a defender, her lower athletic profile does not hinder her game as she often dictates the way she moves whether it is kicking it out from full-back, or receiving the handball and kicking it long down the field.

A super competitive player wherever she plays and at any level, Williams is not afraid to scrap to win the ball in any situation. The Tasmanian reads the play incredible well, can clunk intercept marks and then consistently provide rebound out of the back half to start scoring chains turning defence into offence.

While her aerobic capacity is another element she is looking to work on in order to further impact for longer, Williams as a whole has a nice foundational base for clubs to look at going forward. Her stint playing midfield was one the Tasmanian enjoyed, and would like to pursue in the future, though a role as an intercepting and rebounding defender is where Williams will find herself to start at the top level.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Tatyana Perry

DOB: 28/02/2006
Height: 170cm
Position: General Defender (can play wing/forward)
Club: Palmerston Magpies/NT Thunder
State: Northern Territory

STRENGTHS:

• Speed
• Clean hands
• Ground balls
• Skills
• Run-and-carry
• Leadership

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Endurance
• Strength

PROFILE:

Tatyana Perry has played a range of positions over the years, but in 2024, settled into a half-back role where her athleticism and skill comes to the fore. At the National Draft Combine earlier this month, Perry clocked a blistering 3.125-second 20-metre sprint time to hold off some absolute speedsters such as Zippy Fish for the top time.

She not only blitzed the sprint, but tested well in the vertical jumps with Top 10 finishes in both the standing and running tests. Overall, Perry was able to showcase that element of her game which she has utilised over the years, be it running off half-back or along a wing going forward in transition.

Her endurance is one area that when it comes to that off-ball work is still a work in progress. She has largely been strengthened by playing off half-back rather than through the middle, and aerobic capacity upon reaching the top level is never the biggest of concerns, and nothing a huge preseason leading into an elite system year cannot fix.

Aside from her endurance, the other main query on Perry's game comes from her strength and in turn, her one-on-ones. She is not likely to be a one-on-one defender, and rather be the player to receive the ball, explode away and hit targets further afield. Once again it is an area that with a big preseason can improve, but when you have the athletic gifts that Perry has, you take the extra speed for less strength.

When it comes to her footballing ability though, that is a different story. Perry is a naturally gifted player who has great skills, clean hands and footy smarts. She is not necessarily a massive accumulator, but her impact-per-possession is high and she makes good decisions with ball in hand. Coming off half-back, Perry sees the game in front of her and can buy herself time through her speed.

Her run-and-carry is a highlight in her game, often taking kickouts or being the first target from the kickout, then linking up through hand or foot to cut through the opposition's forward press. She can work up the ground and provide an option, or most likely stay a kick behind play to mop up, switch and find a target in space on the other side of the ground.

Her most notable show of her traits came in torrential rain against Western Jets at Craigieburn where Perry was able to pick up the ball like it was a perfectly dry day as everyone around her fumbled. She is mostly a one-touch player and then able to quickly dish off to open up avenues to score through her teammates, and is a facilitator turning defence into offence.

Those traits, coupled with her evident leadership by co-captaining Palmerston all add up to Perry being a promising player for the future. If she is able to have a big preseason or two heading into the AFLW, then watch out as she already has the weapons that can hurt opposition teams in transition.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Esther Schirmer

DOB: 08/06/2006
Height: 177cm
Position: Tall Defender
Club: South Adelaide
State: South Australia

>> FULL DRAFT PROFILE <<

STRENGTHS:

• Competitiveness
• One-on-ones
• Composure
• Reading the play
• Intercept marking
• Consistency

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Versatility
• Vertical jump

PROFILE:

Esther Schirmer is an interesting AFLW Draft prospect in the fact that she may well be a complete point of difference to others in the draft crop. Her overall profile ticks a lot of boxes for what clubs want in a defender, and while not as flashy as others, is just ultra-reliable and a player that coaches love to turn to in order to nullify an opposition forward.

Schirmer has always been strong defensively, and matches up well one-on-one with opponents. Her underrated agility along with her reading of the play allows her to close down marking options quickly. She is a good height at 177cm, also enabling her to play on talls or smalls thanks to her mobility and strength.

While a lot of those traits are quite good, her true strengths lie in her understanding of the game and being able to remain composed while under immense pressure. When winning the ball, Schirmer rarely panics and assesses the situation well before disposing of the pill. Like any defender under pressure, she can make mistakes, but generally she is a neat and reliable ball user who can hit targets over short, medium or long distances.

In the air, Schirmer reads the play, gets into great positions and intercepts, and is not afraid to engage in a wrestle if required. She has no qualms about spoiling the ball and doing all the team one percenters which endears her to any coach she plays under. The knock on her athletic game would be her vertical leap and that is where she can get caught out if playing behind.

While Schirmer has the smarts and mobility to close down space on the lead, and if side-by-side the strength to knock her opponent off balance, once the forward has a gap and can leap at the ball, it is where the South Adelaide defender is less comfortable. Norwood opponent Kiana Lee got a hold of her a couple of times in the SANFLW Grand Final thanks to Lee's equal strength and smarts, but few opponents can say that about Schirmer.

As a whole, the defender has all the traits to play that lockdown or nullifying role really well. She does have the ability to run out of defence and use the ball safely to ensure maximum ball retention. While not explosive, she moves well, and her composure and smarts do the rest.

She has been pidgeonholed as that tall defender throughout her career, largely due to the fact she has been so good at that role. By being given the keys for more freedom out of defence, Schirmer has become a more versatile defender, but has still largely been locked into the singular positional role. That is not necessarily a bad thing, and is where Schirmer will play in the future, but is an element to note.

Overall, Schirmer's reading of the play, intercept marking - an element she has worked hard on over the last 18 months - and her sheer competitiveness to win every contest she faces, allows her to remain driven and focused. Her point of difference is being a nullifying defender first, and an offensive running one second, which will hold her in good stead for the future.