Swans part with No.1 pick in exchange for Cats onballer
EMERGING Geelong midfielder Laura Gardiner is headed to Sydney in exchange for the first pick in the upcoming supplementary draft as trade and sign period comes to a close today.
After averaging 34.9 disposals in seven games across the 2022 VFLW season, Gardiner broke into the Cats’ senior team to play a career-best 10 games including their elimination final in season seven to take her career tally to 18.
At the Swans Gardiner will no doubt see more opportunity in the thick of it, after sitting behind All-Australian pair Georgie Prespakis and Amy McDonald and former number one pick Nina Morrison for midfield minutes at the Cats.
Gardiner joins big name Victorians Lucy McEvoy and Chloe Molloy moving to the Swans this off season, as well as Irish trio Paris McCarthy, Jennifer Higgins and Julie O’Sullivan.
– Gemma Bastiani
AMY FRANKLIN
WANTAWAY Docker Amy Franklin has had her trade wish granted, heading across town to join West Coast.
The Eagles part with pick No.3 and pick No.21 in exchange for the young forward.
The 20-year-old is a childhood Eagles fan and a close friend of West Coast’s Charlie Thomas.
Fremantle announced Franklin’s trade request last week, with the club’s women’s footy boss Bob Murphy saying it was “a shame that Amy has decided to not pursue the second year of her contract with the club”.
“We feel the Freo Family invested a lot of time and resources into ‘Franky’, so our objective now is to ensure the club gets the best outcome for that investment,” Murphy said.
– Sarah Black and Sophie Welsh
BROOKE WALKER
ESSENDON has secured Carlton speedster Brooke Walker in exchange for pick No.9.
The 27-year-old has a strong rugby background, having missed a chunk of season seven due to her NRLW commitments with Parramatta.
Initially signed as a rookie, Walker has amassed 26 games over five seasons, booting 14 goals as she played a variety of positions in attack and on the wing.
Walker will be reuniting with former teammates Maddy Prespakis and Georgia Gee at Essendon.
– Sarah Black
JESSE WARDLAW, ELLIE HAMPSON, SERENE WATSON, JORDAN MEMBREY, CLARA FITZPATRICK, ELLA MAURER, LULU PULLAR
THE BIGGEST trade in the history of the AFLW competition has now been completed, with seven players and four draft selections exchanged between five clubs.
As revealed by womens.afl on Friday morning, Gold Coast and St Kilda were at the centre of the action, with both clubs dealing with not only each other, but Brisbane, Collingwood and North Melbourne in the five-way deal.
The Suns parted with young midfielder Ellie Hampson (who is headed to Brisbane) and defender Serene Watson (headed to St Kilda), but brought in Jordan Membrey (from Collingwood), Clara Fitzpatrick (from St Kilda) and Ella Maurer (from North Melbourne).
The Saints lost Fitzpatrick as well as picks No.6, 14 and 31, but brought in the competition’s leading goalkicker Jesse Wardlaw (from Brisbane) as well as Watson.
In addition to Wardlaw, the Lions also lost Lulu Pullar, but brough in Hampson and pick No.40 from the Kangaroos.
The Pies snagged the Saints’ pick No.14 but parted with Membrey.
The Roos gained Pullar and pick No.31, but lost Maurer and pick No.40.
– Sophie Welsh
MOLLY EASTMAN
RICHMOND is set to land Sydney defender Molly Eastman in a deal which will see pick No.27 go back to the Swans.
Eastman, 24, is a Victorian who has captained North Melbourne’s VFLW side in the past, and can also rotate through the midfield.
She played all 10 games for the Swans in her debut season, averaging 10.5 disposals in a tough year for the winless side.
Pick No.27 originally started with Essendon, and made its way to Richmond in exchange for inaugural Tiger and small forward Kodi Jacques.
– Sarah Black
ELIZA SHANNON
NORTH Melbourne has landed Hawthorn defender Eliza Shannon in a trade.
Shannon was an overage signing during the Hawks’ initial list build last year, plucked out of Hawthorn’s VFLW program. The 23-year-old also spent some time plying her trade in the Northern Territory Football League before reaching AFLW level.
Throughout season seven, Shannon managed six games as she battled a concussion suffered in round three.
North Melbourne will also receive pick No.40 in the deal, while Hawthorn gets pick No.33 in the upcoming draft.
The draft will take place on April 4.
– Gemma Bastiani
KATE SURMAN AND MADDY KERYK
PORT Adelaide and Geelong have agreed to a trade, which sees Kate Surman and Maddy Keryk switch clubs.
Surman, who joined Port Adelaide’s inaugural list after three seasons with Gold Coast, will return to her home state of Victoria. An energetic midfielder/forward, the 31-year-old will bring her 11 goals from 36 games to Geelong.
Meanwhile, Port Adelaide will also be Keryk’s third club, after starting out on Carlton’s inaugural list before being added to Geelong’s inaugural team. She has played 47 career games, largely as a small defender with the Cats.
Along with Keryk, Geelong will also send pick No.12 in the upcoming draft to Port Adelaide in return for Surman.
The AFLW Trade and Sign period will continue until Monday, March 20.
– Gemma Bastiani
PARIS MCCARTHY, JENNIFER HIGGINS AND JULIE O’SULLIVAN
SYDNEY has added a trio of Irish talent to its young list, signing Paris McCarthy, Jennifer Higgins and Julie O’Sullivan for the 2023 season.
As reported by womens.afl earlier this month, Paris McCarthy played Division One basketball for East Tennessee State University on a scholarship last year, and earned an All-Ireland 2022 team selection at just 19 years of age.
McCarthy is also an accomplished Gaelic footballer for county Kerry, the home of Swans great Tadhg Kennelly, where she has played with fellow recruit O’Sullivan.
Higgins of county Roscommon is an experienced Gaelic footballer, who has recorded over 130 senior appearances at senior championship and league level.
They join Lucy McEvoy and Chloe Molloy in becoming new Swans ahead of AFLW season eight.
– Gemma Bastiani
ERONE FITZPATRICK AND DAYNA FINN
CARLTON will bolster its list with Irish talent in the coming days, with the Blues set to announce the signings of Erone Fitzpatrick and Dayna Finn.
As reported by womens.afl earlier this month, Finn is an accomplished Gaelic footballer and basketballer and is currently studying on a sports scholarship at Trinity College in Dublin.
Fitzpatrick is a hard running goal scorer from Laois, who was integral to her side’s All Ireland Intermediate Championship victory last year.
The pair will become just the second and third Irish players to be signed by Carlton, following Joanne Doonan’s time on the list in 2020.
They also follow Jennifer Dunne (Brisbane), and trio Paris McCarthy, Jennifer Higgins and Julie O’Sullivan (Sydney), who have joined the AFLW in recent weeks.
Fitzpatrick and Finn will join Harriet Corder in becoming new Blues this off season.
– Gemma Bastiani
TAYLAH LEVY
ADELAIDE has added basketballer Taylah Levy to its list as a rookie.
Levy, 21, has just finished playing three years of basketball in the US college system for Cleveland State University.
Standing at 165cm, Levy played junior and SANFLW football as a midfielder until the age of 16 with South Adelaide, but as she has not been a registered player for more than three years, is able to be signed as a rookie.
“Our club has an excellent record of recruiting players who have played football at a junior level but then pursued other sports,” Crows head of AFLW Phil Harper said.
“Taylah had a great opportunity to play college basketball but we were always hopeful she would come back to footy one day and are rapt she’s signed as a rookie for season eight.
“It’s been five years since she last played football competitively, so we will give her time to develop but we are confident she has the talent and competitiveness to become a quality AFLW player and help make us better as a team.”
Levy will return to South Adelaide for the current SANFLW season, ahead of the AFLW beginning in August.
– Sarah Black
COURTNEY JONES AND MADDY BRANCATISANO
COURTNEY Jones and Maddy Brancatisano has completed a straight swap, with Jones now at Richmond and Brancatisano at Gold Coast.
Brancatisano, a speedy midfielder, had been struggling for opportunities at the Tigers, and her run-and-carry game should suit the Suns.
Jones had requested a move to Melbourne to be close to younger sister Mikaela, who has been diagnosed with stage 3-4 thyroid cancer.
Both players are 22, with Brancatisano having played 32 games at the Tigers over four seasons after failing to make her debut in her one year on Melbourne’s list in 2019.
Jones played nine games for Carlton on her third year on the list (season six), before crossing to Gold Coast for season seven, adding another nine.
In both seasons, she was her team’s leading goalkicker (equal with Tara Bohanna at the Suns).
– Sarah Black
MADDI AND TEAGAN LEVI
GOLD Coast sisters Maddi and Teagan Levi will sit out another AFLW season, having committed to rugby sevens until at least the conclusion of the Paris Olympics.
With the Olympics to be held in late July-early August 2024, there remains a hope the talented pair will skip AFLW pre-season and suit up for the Suns following the Games.
Teagan was drafted in 2021 with pick No.6 – the first Queensland-born player to be selected in that draft – but has yet to make her AFLW debut, named inactive for seasons six and seven.
Older sister Maddi was drafted the year prior, playing eight of nine games in 2021 and impressing with her athleticism and power both up forward and in the midfield.
She was also inactive across both seasons in 2022.
– Sarah Black
CAITLIN GREISER, HARRIET CORDNER AND NAT PLANE
THE G-TRAIN has pulled into Richmond station.
A three-way trade has seen 2020 AFLW leading goalkicker Caitlin Greiser move from St Kilda to Richmond, with wantaway Tigers defender Harriet Cordner crossing to Carlton and inaugural Blues winger Nat Plane moving to the Saints.
As broken by womens.afl, Greiser was keen to move to Punt Road, with a full-forward spot opening up following the retirement of All-Australian Courtney Wakefield.
Richmond has also parted ways with pick No.14, which has landed at St Kilda.
That pick may eventually end up assisting the Saints land season seven leading goalkicker Jesse Wardlaw from Brisbane.
The upcoming Supplementary Draft is for mature-age players only, and clubs do not have to participate if their lists are full.
Cordner sat out season seven after rupturing her ACL in the opening rounds of season six, and Carlton will be her third club, after the former soccer player was signed as a rookie by Melbourne for the very first season.
Plane has played 36 games across seven seasons for the Blues, including all 10 in season six. But she managed just five in the second half of the year, named as an emergency for the remaining five matches.
|
|
Gained |
Lost |
|
Carlton |
Harriet Cordner |
Nat Plane |
|
Richmond |
Caitlin Greiser |
Harriet Cordner Pick No.14 |
|
St Kilda |
Nat Plane |
Caitlin Greiser |
– Sarah Black
JENNIFER DUNNE
BRISBANE has signed one of the biggest names in Gaelic football, Dublin’s Jennifer Dunne, as a rookie for the next two seasons.
Amid a tricky off-season which has seen Emily Bates and Greta Bodey head to Hawthorn, and Jesse Wardlaw and Lulu Pullar request trades, signing Dunne is a coup for the club.
Known for her athleticism and skill, Dunne will also bring a physicality to the Lions that few Irish players arrive in Australia with and will join fellow Irishwoman Orla O’Dwyer at Brisbane.
“Jen is someone who we are eager to bring on board for all her team success so early in her career,” Brisbane head coach Craig Starcevich said.
“She is incredibly athletic; her physicality and decision making are something we think will transfer to AFL beautifully and we can’t wait to get working with her. Coming from Ireland we know it will be an adjustment for her, but we think she’s really well placed with someone like Orla who has been in her shoes, to help through the transition.”
– Gemma Bastiani
KODI JACQUES
ESSENDON has landed a surprise acquisition, trading in Richmond small forward Kodi Jacques.
In return, the Tigers gain the Bombers’ second round selection (currently pick No.27) for the upcoming Supplementary Draft.
Jacques is an inaugural Tiger who came through the club’s VFLW program and Bendigo Thunder.
The 22-year-old – who can also rotate through the midfield if required – has played 26 games over her three AFLW seasons, but struggled to hold her spot as the Tigers rose up the ladder, appearing in four of a possible 12 games in season seven.
The Tigers had only made two list changes up until this point – delisting Hannah Burchell and the retirement of Courtney Wakefield – and now sit at 31 players, one over the limit.
Current Tigers Harriet Cordner has been linked to Carlton, Maddy Brancatisano is likely to move to Gold Coast, while two forwards – Caitlin Greiser and Courtney Jones – are strong chances of landing at Punt Road, meaning there’s a chance the Tigers won’t enter the draft.
For the Bombers, Jacques is the second signing of the player movement period, after securing defender Brooke Brown from North Melbourne through the PSP. Their list is at 32, and also needs to come down to 30.
– Sarah Black
AMY FRANKLIN
RISING Fremantle forward Amy Franklin has requested a trade after two seasons on the Dockers’ list.
It’s understood Franklin is wishing to move to cross-town rivals West Coast, but it remains to be seen how the trade will be made, with the outside chance a third club may need to be involved.
The Supplementary Draft for mature-age players means picks hold less value than in years’ past, with straight player swaps looking like the dominant mechanism for trades across this period.
Franklin, 20, is a childhood Eagles fan and a close friend of West Coast’s Charlie Thomas.
If the trade is successful, she could be a long-term spearhead for the club, working alongside Ella Roberts, Kate Bartlett and Aimee Schmidt.
“It’s a shame that Amy has decided to not pursue the second year of her contract with the club,” AFLW head of footy Bob Murphy said.
“We feel the Freo Family invested a lot of time and resources into ‘Franky’, so our objective now is to ensure the club gets the best outcome for that investment.”
– Sarah Black
STEPH CHIOCCI, JAIMEE LAMBERT, TARNI WHITE, GRACE CAMPBELL AND KATE SHIERLAW
INAUGURAL Collingwood captain Steph Chiocci and teammate Jaimee Lambert are now Saints, Tarni White and Grace Campbell Pies, and Kate Shierlaw a Roo.
As flagged by womens.afl on Friday morning, the three-club, five-player mega-trade has kicked off the AFLW Sign and Trade period with a bang.
North Melbourne also traded its first-round selection (15) in the upcoming Supplementary Draft to Collingwood, while the Magpies handed off their second-rounder (31) to the Saints as part of the deal.
Chiocci was selected with pick No.11 in the 2016 draft, and is one of the longest-serving captains in the competition, but a longer contract offer at the Saints for the 34-year-old is understood to be a key part in the decision to move.
Lambert, a three-time best and fairest at Collingwood, has often been the target of rival clubs, with Hawthorn in particular having gone hard after the dynamic midfielder last year.
The hard-nosed Campbell is coming off a torn ACL suffered in late July, which ruled her out of season seven. She played primarily in the midfield for first club Richmond, before featuring across half-forward at the Roos.
Key forward Shierlaw, 34, could be the missing piece of the puzzle for North Melbourne, which has been continually tinkering with its attack as it pushes into the top echelon of the ladder.
She is the partner of Kangaroos skipper Emma Kearney, the pair having been on opposite training nights for years and live in the north-west of the city, with St Kilda based in the south-east.
Midfielder White made headlines as one of the first 18-year-old draftees to actively nominate a different state, choosing to move from Queensland to Melbourne to play footy.
|
|
Gained |
Lost |
|
Collingwood |
Tarni White Grace Campbell First-round selection (NM) |
Steph Chiocci Jaimee Lambert Second-round selection |
|
North Melbourne |
Kate Shierlaw |
Grace Campbell First-round selection |
|
St Kilda |
Steph Chiocci Jaimee Lambert Second-round selection (Coll) |
Tarni White Kate Shierlaw |
– Sarah Black
COURTNEY JONES
GOLD Coast forward Courtney Jones is requesting a trade back to Victoria for family reasons.
The 22-year-old is understood to have been very happy at the Suns and was initially planning to stay on, but her family has come first in this particular situation.
Jones started her career at Carlton, making her debut in her third season on the list and playing nine games for eight goals in season six.
She then moved to Gold Coast for season seven, once again booting eight goals from nine matches.
The Suns will work to find a suitable home via a trade for Jones.
– Sarah Black
JESSE WARDLAW AND LULU PULLAR
BRISBANE has confirmed that star forward Jesse Wardlaw and emerging defender Lulu Pullar will seek trades out of the club in the coming weeks, with the pair expected to both land at Victorian clubs.
Wardlaw, who has been linked to St Kilda, was the competition’s leading goalkicker last season with 22 and played an important part in the Lions’ maiden premiership in 2021.
“Jesse has been a very valued member of the Brisbane Lions, coming up through the ranks via our Academy. She will always have a place here at Brisbane,” Lions head of women’s football Breeanna Brock said.
“As a home-grown talent, we would have loved Jesse to remain with the Lions. On behalf of everyone at Brisbane, I would like to thank Jesse for everything she has done for our Club, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.”
The forward has kicked 47 goals in her 49 career games to date and missed just one game in the Lions’ season seven campaign where they pushed to a fourth Grand Final.
Meanwhile Pullar, who is a doctor off the field, is looking to move to Victoria to pursue further career opportunities alongside her footy.
“Lulu has indicated to the club she is seeking to continue her football career at another AFLW club whilst also taking employment opportunities in Melbourne,” Brock said.
“We wish her every success in her next chapter not only with her football career but as a first-year doctor as well.”
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED All the PSP moves as they happened
Womens.afl understands Pullar is set to be signed by North Melbourne.
The AFLW Trade and Sign period begins on Friday and will run until March 20.
The pair join Emily Bates and Greta Bodey in leaving the club in recent weeks, the latter duo landing at Hawthorn via the Priority Signing Period.
– Gemma Bastiani