World Footy News

The AFL has announced the top 50 female players in Australia as part of the Women's Draft which precedes the "Women's AFL" exhibition game. The game will be played as a curtain raiser to the Women’s Round AFL game between Melbourne FC and Western Bulldogs at the MCG on the 29th of June.

The two AFL Clubs were given the opportunity to select the players from the draft to represent them in the curtain raiser. Also selected were two of Australia’s top female coaches: Michelle Cowan has been appointed coach of the Melbourne FC women’s team, and Peta Searle has been appointed coach of the Western Bulldogs women’s team.

Unsurprisingly, players from the VWFL dominated the selection, with powerhouse Darebin Falcons notching up nothing short of 10 players on the list, 3 of whom where named in the top 10.

A spokesperson from Darebin Falcons told us, “The girls certainly did their club proud. It was a successful night for Darebin, but more importantly for women's football as a whole. It’s fantastic to see these women receiving a reward for their effort.”

Across town, Melbourne University’s team had 6 players selected, whilst in Western Australia, Coastal Titans managed 4 players on the list and Swan Districs had two players named in the top 10.

Representatives from New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia also found their way into the top 50, echoing the promising results from the recent Youth Girls National Championships, and showing that the gap between the two top states and their closest rivals is slowly closing.

Read the full story for the full list of the top 50 female players, their home clubs and the AFL team they have been selected to play for.

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, QLD) 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, QLD) 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, QLD) drafted by Western Bulldogs

Number 37: Leah Kaslar (Palm Beach Currumbin, QLD) 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, QLD) 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