If you wish to torture yourself, lots of video and other stuff for Zali and Georgie here:
https://twitter.com/catswomens/
The other four clubs have been much more passive.
I get a Reimers vibe (minus the idiocy) about how Zali runs: head forward of the feet, obvious intent, and when the afterburners are needed, voooom.
BOLTERS:
Pick 7 – Zali Friswell (Calder Cannons)
It was terrific to see the skilful onballer earn her named called out in the Top 10, with her inside work and combination of speed and endurance making her such a damaging prospect. Originally touted as a first round prospect thanks to those traits, Friswell was thrown around the ground at both the AFLW Under 19 Championships level and VFLW level, and the worry was that perhaps clubs were focusing too much on versatility. With Geelong able to bring in another midfielder, expect Friswell to star in that role, though not before she funnily enough has to take on the Cats this weekend in the red and black.
SLIDERS:
Pick 19 – Tara Slender (North Melbourne)
The Roos feature again, and whilst Tess Craven might be considered a little bit of a slider too, Slender is going to prove enormous value at Pick 19. The tall utility who can play anywhere had an inconsistent season, but is a clear Top 5 player on potential, and to get out to the start of the second round was a touch surprising. North Melbourne will have the potential to play her anywhere they want such is her versatility, and this might be the pick that is the pick of the draft. Once she irons out some consistency, she will be a very good player.
Pick 42 – Tahlia Gillard (Melbourne)
It is always tricky to know exactly where talls are going to land such is the unpredictability of clubs and picking up raw talents, and deciding between teenagers and mature-age prospects. Not many would have thought Georgia Campbell (who was always going at Pick 42 given the father-daughter bidding) was going to end up the first picked teenage ruck/forward at that selection, but Gillard ended up having to wait until the pick after, giving the Dees some serious height. With plenty of experience coming into Melbourne this off-season, they can afford to wait a bit and the 190cm talent will be one to watch for the future.
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Lauren Ahrens peaking (?) at 30yo, today.
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Per above:
by Celie Hay
Star midfielder Alana Barba in action during the Bombers’ VFLW preliminary final in July. (Photo: AFL Photos)
Another Essendon VFLW star will join the AFLW with Alana Barba today signing with the Gold Coast Suns.
Following the success of July’s draft, Barba is the seventh player to go through the Bombers’ women’s football program and on to an AFLW list.
Barba first joined the Bombers for four games in 2019 as a top-age player from Calder Cannons and signed with the club ahead of the 2020 season.
Due to COVID-19, she had to wait an extra year for a full season in the red and black but quickly solidified her spot in the Bombers’ midfield and impressed the Suns’ coaching staff.
For Barba, it feels surreal that she has made her way on to an AFLW list and was in shock when she received the call from Gold Coast head coach Cameron Joyce.
“It hasn’t really set in yet. I think once I know it’s really official and I get up there that’s when it will probably sink in a bit more but it’s pretty surreal at the moment,” Barba said.
“I received a call from Cam and he basically just said that there’s a position available and that it was mine to fill so when I found I was kind of shaky and it was all a bit of a blur in the moment.”
It was Barba’s work ethic through the midfield and her determination at contests that stood out to the Suns.
Alana Barba celebrates a goal with Nat MacDonald this season. (Photo: AFL Photos)
Barba was a key part of the Bombers’ engine room this season with the 19-year-old averaging 16.4 disposals and 7.5 tackles per game.
Showing her versatility, Barba was also dangerous up forward where she scored 10 goals, including Essendon’s first major in the elimination final against Casey which sparked the Bombers’ come-from-behind victory.
“They liked that I was a hard ball-winner in the middle and that I cover the ground very well,” Barba said.
“But what stood out to me was the way they went about things. They were very honest with me from the get-go and they had a very warm feeling about them. I felt pretty comfortable instantly with them."
Although Barba believes her time at VFLW level has prepared her for the physical side of AFLW, it was the Bombers’ women’s program that has equipped her for the move to the top level.
“Coming up against the bigger bodies in the VFLW has definitely helped me prepare a little bit more,” she said.
“But just the elite environment that Essendon has provided for me has really set me up for when I do move to AFLW level.”
A key part of the Bombers’ program is head coach Brendan Major, who saw potential in Barba from when she was at Calder Cannons and instilled belief in the midfielder that she could perform at AFLW level.
“Brendan Major, he is the one coach throughout my whole football journey who has really wholeheartedly supported me and believed in me to go the next level,” Barba said.
“He took a chance on me when signing me as a VFLW player and I’m very grateful for him doing that because he is one of the only coaches who have believed that I could play at AFLW level.”
Alana Barba says she owes a lot to Essendon’s VFLW head coach Brendan Major. (Photo: AFL Photos)
As Barba prepares to take the next step into the AFLW, she is embracing the opportunity to develop as a player and a person when she moves up north from her home state of Victoria.
“It’s just a new experience and chance to up my game at the next level. When you’re playing against quality players, you’re only going to improve for the better so that’s what I’m excited about," she said.
“I think a new experience for me will be good. I’ll grow as a person and a player and I think that’s exactly what I need, a bit of a change.”
When Barba moves to the Sunshine State, she will be greeted by a familiar face at the Suns.
Fellow Bomber and reigning Gold Coast club champion Lauren Ahrens joined the Suns two years ago and played a role in Barba’s decision to sign with the Suns.
“She definitely has had her input to try and persuade me but she is a great person and I’m excited to be teammates and run out with her again,” Barba said.
“Having Lauren at the Suns definitely eases my nerves a bit. It’s always nice to have a familiar face when you go into a new environment, let alone moving interstate, so I’m grateful I know at least one person.”
When Barba runs out as a Sun in the next AFLW season, there will be some familiar faces lining up against her, something she believes will feel strange to begin with but is looking forward to the challenge.
“Definitely Georgie Prespakis and Zali (Friswell), they were both drafted to Geelong so they will be tough to come up against," she said.
“But also Georgia Patrikios from St Kilda, she’s one of my best friends so I think there will be a bit of banter on the field with her.”
Barba joins Georgie Prespakis, Zali Friswell, Emelia Yassir, Tara Slender, Elizabeth Snell and Tahlia Gillard as VFLW Bombers drafted to the AFLW this year.
Alex Catalano (click here for more by Alex)
Alana Barba and Tara Bohanna are officially Gold Coast Suns. (Photos: St Kilda FC; Essendon FC)
After being overlooked for the third time in three drafts, Essendon’s Alana Barba is officially a Gold Coast Sun.
It was an emotional scene at Windy Hill after the Bombers went down by 28 points to Geelong in the VFLW Preliminary Final. Barba made the announcement to her teammates after the siren, giving them something to celebrate regardless of the result.
There were not many better games to announce it after, Barba performing nearly the strongest she had all year.
The aggressive midfielder/forward was constant in her attack on the footy, one of the Bombers best of the day. She finished the match with 18 disposals, five tackles, three clearances and kicked 1.2.
Barba’s pathway to AFLW level hasn’t been an easy.
She didn’t play any footy between the ages of seven and 15, but slowly began her development after joining the Calder Cannons in the NAB League.
Her 2019 was a quiet year for the Cannons, playing 11 games and averaging 12 disposals and only kicking three goals. Her tackling and pressure game was already of note however, averaging seven tackles a game.
Barba would play three games for Essendon in the VFLW that year, not making much of a splash.
As such, she was overlooked by all 14 clubs in the 2019 AFLW Draft, and looked toward the VFLW again to continue to improve her craft.
Barba playing for the Calder Cannons (Photo: AFL)
2020 was meant to be Barba’s first full year with the Bombers, but like most players, COVID put an end to her hopes of proving herself to recruiters once again.
Pre-season 2021, and hopes were high. Her teammates and leaders couldn’t speak higher of her coming into the year as a 19-year-old, and she proved them right.
Barba averaged 16 disposals, seven tackles and kicked 11 goals in her 17 games as one of the most consistent members of the Essendon side that nearly reached the Grand Final.
There’s no doubt that she proved herself as both a contested machine, and a regular goalscorer.
Coming into the last matches of the regular season and the finals, she averaged 11 tackles over a month long period. Barba kicked more than a goal on two occasions, and only managed to completely miss the scoreboard twice.
With the already exciting additions of Charlie Rowbottom and Teagan Levi into the midfield and Ashanti Bush into the forward line, Barba completes an already strong draft hand for Gold Coast.
She adds another versatile player who can rotate into the forward and midfield lines. Barba’s pressure and attack on the footy should translate perfectly to AFLW level, and will be the support needed to allow the likes of Rowbottom, Ali Drennan, Hannah Dunn and Jacqui Yorston to utilise their clearance work and disposal out of the centre.
When forward, she’ll be a player who can crack in and create stoppage after stoppage inside 50. Her eyes for the goals will complement Bush’s natural goal sense, and will work off the talls at ground level.
[and then a couple lines about Bohanna]
For those interested, Georgia Nanscawen is doing a fundraiser for the Starlight Foundation.
Doing 1000kms on the bike in September.
More info and link for those who want to donate, is in her instagram profile.
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I assume she thinks we’re getting out of lockdown, or will ride faster than 33km/h.
If the AFL had let us win the elimination final, I was going to post the related photo with the caption “The Captain and the Premier say…”
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Quigley has had her foot surgery, apparently successfully.
Time to recover, and start her next 50 VFLW games.
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La Presidenta can’t keep a secret. 
Alana Barba gets a handball away in round eight, 2021 VFLW action. Picture: AFL Photos
HOURS after being overlooked in a third successive NAB AFLW Draft, despair turned to jubilation for midfielder Alana Barba.
She received a call from new Gold Coast coach Cameron Joyce offering her a spot on the club’s list to replace an inactive player (one of Annise Bradfield or Emma Pittman).
It meant moving states and leaving her job with her family’s concreting business, but the soon-to-be 20-year-old didn’t hesitate to say yes.
“I found out a couple of hours after the draft, Cameron Joyce rang me and said there was a spot available if I wanted it. It was quite surreal, I thought I’d misheard him when I got off the phone, but it was all real and I was shaking a bit, I was so excited,” Barba told womens.afl .
"I’d gone into a different room to answer the phone call, so when I came back out to my parents there were lots of tears of joy, a really proud moment for them.
“All three years I’ve been eligible, I’ve nominated for the Victorian draft, but it was a very easy decision to make and one I made very quickly. I didn’t have any hesitations whatsoever when I got the call, I just walked out, told my parents what had happened, and said, ‘I’m going’.”
The Suns didn’t make the additions to their list (Southern Saint Tara Bohanna has also moved north) public until a month after the draft, meaning Barba had to keep it as quiet as possible.
“It’s been a very tough secret to keep. I had questions about the draft, and I’d just say, ‘maybe next year’, but deep down it was eating at me. It was a big secret to keep, but it was one I was happy to keep,” she said.
“Especially with everything that’s happening in Victoria at the moment, I think this move is just what I need, as well as for my personal growth. There’s been a few bumps in the road, but I’m really excited to be here.”
Barba’s junior footy career ended as soon as it began after some boys thought it would be funny to pull her pony-tail in an attempt to tackle her in an early training session, so she switched to basketball.
She returned to footy in her mid-teens, playing local footy with Roxburgh Park and NAB League with Calder Cannons, before breaking through to Vic Metro in her top-age year.
But it was at Essendon that Barba truly thrived, joining the club’s VFLW team following the conclusion of that 2019 Cannons season.
She has steadily worked on developing her game, finishing third in the club’s best and fairest count this year after the team qualified for a preliminary final.
Essendon’s Alana Barba contests the ball during the VFLW Preliminary Final against Geelong on July 31, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos
“Being at Essendon, I’ve really enjoyed my football this year. The coaching staff have put a lot of effort into me and have helped improve my knowledge along the way. I’ve also been working on cleaning up my skills and having clean hands and I think that’s showed in my footy,” she said.
"They really cared for me when no one did. It’s really prepared me for this next stage, playing against pretty great AFLW players in the VFLW, the professionalism and club culture at the Bombers has also given me an advantage in going into the next level.
"Brendon Major, the head coach, he really believed in me from the get-go. He always had faith in me, threw me into the midfield straight away and gave me the belief I needed.
“Lauren Ahrens, who will be my teammate again at the Suns, she’s helped me a lot, as well as my close friends in the Bombers program in Courtney Ugle and Eloise Ashley-Cooper.”
After coming through the talent pathways and being on the cusp of an AFLW spot for the past few years, Barba is raring to take her chance at the top level.
“Being overlooked in the past three years, it just gave me more motivation, to be honest. It was kind of a positive as well, I’ve had two extra years to work on my craft and learn more about the game,” she said.
“I’m really excited to get this opportunity to go to the Gold Coast, I’m really grateful to them for believing in me.”
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A Prespakis will NOT be the NAB League B&F next year.
This lowered profile will allow us to steal them both back 
…
Geelong draftee and Calder Cannons graduate Georgie Prespakis was the headline act, taking out consecutive NAB League Girls Best and Fairest honours. It means the last three awards all belong to the same family, as elder sister Maddy took home the coveted medal in 2018.
The 18-year-old, who was just 16 at the time of her maiden win in 2019, polled 21 votes across nine games including seven best-on-ground performances. She averaged an even 23 disposals and 8.7 tackles in 2021, leading the Cannons to a positive record before having her name called at pick two in the AFLW Draft.
Prespakis’ second triumph saw her lead stretched out to seven votes from the next-highest poller
…
In a surprise to no one, Prespakis slotted in at the heart of the girl’s team which is captained by number one pick, Charlie Rowbottom. Geelong Falcons standout Tess Craven rounds out the midfield mix alongside Calder ruck Tahlia Gillard.
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Not mentioned in the article are the three other Bombers named in the Team of the Year: Yassir, Snell, and Slender.
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