50 SANFLW rising stars – aged 23 and under – to keep an eye on in 2024
The SANFLW season is growing and a new wave of young guns are ready to take the field. Andrew Capel pinpoints 50 emerging talents to watch in 2024.
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The SANFL Women’s League is growing and the next generation of young guns are coming.
As the season expands from 12 to 14 rounds and a state game against Western Australia will be played for the first time this year, the quality of talent coming through the ranks – the Croweaters have won back-to-back AFLW Under-18 National Championships – is eye-popping.
South Australia boasts five players in this year’s AFLW National Academy squad – Sturt’s India Rasheed, Glenelg’s Poppy Scholz and Central District’s Charlotte Riggs, Georgia McKee and Jasmine Evans – while there are a host of other up-and-comers making waves.
With the 2024 SANFLW season kicking off on Friday, March 1, The Advertiser asked the eight coaches to nominate their most exciting players aged 23 and under – many who are on the radar of AFLW clubs.
Here are the top 50, listed in alphabetical order.
MEL ANDERSON
(South Adelaide)
Forward/midfielder, 18, 173cm
“Mel was probably unlucky not to be drafted for this year. She is a hard-working, high forward/midfielder who ended up being a goal-a-game player for us after coming into our senior team late last year. She is really coachable, explosive, fast, has elite foot skills and is really powerful in the contest. She is one of a number of players in our team who are capable of playing a forward-mid role, which gives us great flexibility.’’ – South coach Rick Watts.
RUBY BALLARD
(West Adelaide)
Midfielder/small forward, 17, 156cm
“The sister of Crow Abbie Ballard, Ruby is only short in stature but you wouldn’t know it by the way she plays. She is a great tackler who has created terrific forward pressure for us as a small forward but she will work through the midfield a bit more this season. She was a massive contributor to our team last year, very consistent, and is a great ball user. Her skills are awesome and she rarely misses a target.’’ – West coach Bruce Dawes.
EMILY BARTSCH
(Norwood)
Key defender, 20, 175cm
“Emily is our best defender and should be able to fill much of the slack left by Ally Ferrall’s retirement. She is a really good athlete who has the ability to find a way to get to contests where a lot of players wouldn’t, whether it’s through her speed or strength. Her ability to seemingly come from nowhere to get an important spoil or contest a mark is a massive strength. Emily is one of our strongest players but she moves like a midfielder and has really good AFLW attributes.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
LILY BAXTER
(South Adelaide)
Forward/wing, 17, 171cm
“We call Lily the ‘Ice Queen’ because she sealed games for us in the last minute or so three or four times last year by kicking important goals. She just doesn’t miss in front of goal. Lily is tall and athletic and, after previously playing as a deep forward where she hit the scoreboard a lot, she has pushed up to a wing now as we look to allow her to get more of the footy through the midfield.’’ – South coach Rick Watts.
MONIQUE BESSEN
(Sturt)
Forward/midfielder, 16, 171cm
“She came through our junior program and played league footy for all of last season, starting as a forward and progressing through to the midfield. An under-16 State player, Monique doesn’t have a massive frame but she is highly skilled and classy, which makes it look like she has more time with the ball than others. She is very balanced with her disposal and decision making.’’ – Sturt coach Michael O’Connor.
LUCY BOYD
(West Adelaide)
Utility, 17, 175cm
“Lucy was voted into our leadership group this year, which will be great for her development. She is a very versatile player who has the ability to be able to play anywhere really – forward, back or in the midfield. Last year – in a season that was interrupted by injury – she played as a running defender, providing great run off half-back. Lucy is strong over the footy and I think she narrowly missed out on this year’s AFLW Academy squad.’’ – West coach Bruce Dawes.
SARAH BRANFORD
(Norwood)
Midfielder, 20, 160cm
“Sarah played at half-back last year but I want to move her into the midfield this season. She’s a really good ball user on both sides of her body, that’s her real strength, and she’s been working hard on her contest work. She possesses power out of a contest, having the ability to explode away and hurt teams on the outside if she can get her hands on the ball. Sarah can break lines and open games up for us while possessing a long, penetrating kick, so we’re hoping she might be able to tear some games apart for us.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
TAHLITA BUETHKE
(Norwood)
Wing, 21, 170cm
“Tahlita made The Advertiser SANFLW Team of the Year and won our best and fairest award last season and I would imagine that after this season she will be seriously considered to be taken by AFLW clubs. 2023 was a breakout year for her and hopefully she will build on that this year. Her workrate and footy smarts have certainly grown and put her in a position where she is able to control games for us and provide safety behind the ball because she gets back and takes a lot of intercept marks. Tahlita pressures the opposition and wins the ball back for us and has AFLW attributes, which her commitment and professionalism will allow her to strive towards.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
EMMA CHARLTON
(South Adelaide)
Midfielder/forward, 15, 159cm
“The sister of Adelaide Crow Teah Charlton, Emma will be in her first year of senior SANFLW footy but she is a gun. She is so talented she was probably good enough to play seniors when she was 12. Emma is explosive and really powerful and even though she’s small she plays a lot like Teah in that she goes at 110 per cent all the time and isn’t afraid to battle against girls who are a lot bigger. She’ll play mainly as a forward for us, with a little bit of midfield work, and she’ll hit the scoreboard while also providing plenty of forward pressure.’’ – South coach Rick Watts.
JULIA CLARK
(North Adelaide)
Midfielder, 22, 162cm
“Julia is very competitive, driven, strong, quick and skilful. She probably isn’t that well known outside of our club but she is very highly rated inside. She has had a great pre-season – she’s probably been our best trainer – and I’m confident she’ll have a great year. She’ll be an important midfielder for us.’’ – North coach Jason Fairall.
APRILLE CROOKS
(North Adelaide)
Defender/midfielder, 21, 170cm
“Aprille is a Tasmanian who joined us last year and trained with the Crows in the off-season before rolling straight into our pre-season. She’s fit, strong, powerful and a great runner who covers the ground really well. She’s just a fierce competitor at the footy who is really good in one-on-one contests.’’ – North coach Jason Fairall.
EMMA DALEY
(Norwood)
Half-back/midfielder, 17, 164cm
“Emma moved across from Mildura and we’ve been lucky enough to pick her up. She can play midfield but will probably start across half-back for us because that’s the area we believe we can best utilise her skill set. Emma has really good foot skills and makes great decisions under pressure. She’s also strong in the contest and her ability to win the ball and then make really good decisions in a crucial part of the ground will be really important for us.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
ASHA DUFOUR
(West Adelaide)
Midfielder/forward, 17, 170cm
“Asha came back from the off-season in great condition, improving her speed and endurance. A hard-running, outside midfielder, she runs forward hard and has the ability to work back and assist our defenders. She has genuine pace, allowing her to burst out of stoppages, and is an excellent kick.’’ – West coach Bruce Dawes.
SOPHIE EATON
(Central District)
Forward, 16, 170cm
“Sophie was South Australia’s MVP at the AFL Under-16 National Championships and played as a forward for us. She has extremely good skills and is such a good user of the football that she very rarely misses a target. She has great goal sense but will play as a high forward for us this year and see some more on-ball action.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
LAELA EBERT
(North Adelaide)
Midfielder, 17, 165cm
“Laela is the daughter of former North men’s player Daniel Ebert and she sets really high training standards. She’s versatile, strong, powerful and very skilful with a great kick. Laela has the versatility and ability to play any number of roles through our midfield.’’ – North coach Jason Fairall.
MIYU ENDERSBY
(Central District)
Ruck/key position, 15, 179cm
“Miyu is a junior who we have brought up into our senior squad and she offers great versatility with her ability to play in various positions, including ruck, down back and up forward. She’s tall and can take a strong mark and lay aggressive tackles. We are looking forward to seeing her develop a lot this year and think she will push to play league footy.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
JASMINE EVANS
(Central District)
Key forward, 18, 170cm
“One of our key forwards, Jas probably has the best technical kicking action I’ve seen from a women’s player. I coached (former Crow and now Geelong AFLW star) Chloe Scheer at one stage and she’s a great kick but I think Jas’s technique is even better. She is in the AFL National Academy squad and has exceptionally good game sense, is very clever around goal and can be a really dangerous forward for us.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
MARLIE FIEGERT
(Woodville-West Torrens)
Midfielder, 18, 172cm
“Marlie was runner-up in our best and fairest last season and is a true inside midfielder. When I first started coaching here she struggled to run a lap but she has improved her fitness so much she is now in our top three for running. Marlie is really strong, especially through the upper body, can move through density and her ability to be able to get from contest to contest has gone through the roof this pre-season. The daughter of Nigel Fiegert (Port Adelaide premiership player), Marlie does everything in her power to become the best footballer she can be and hasn’t missed a beat this pre-season. She’s a ripper.’’ – Eagles coach Narelle Smith.
MADI FREEMAN
(Glenelg)
Midfielder, 22, 165cm
“She was the youngest player to play 50 SANFLW games (in 2022) and is one of our highest games players (68), despite being just 22. Madi will play an outside mid role for us again this year. She is quick, agile, can run and carry the ball, has great composure and is a good kick.’’ – Glenelg coach Lexi Edwards.
ALISHA GEPP
(Sturt)
Midfielder, 21, 161cm
“Alisha is a consistent performer with great footy smarts. She has a little burst of speed and the agility in tight to get out (of traffic). She’s accumulated more (average) possessions than anyone for us over the past couple of seasons and has the knack of being able to find the footy more than most and then use it well. Alisha missed the back half of last year after breaking her arm but she has enjoyed a strong pre-season and we’re looking forward to watching her go about her work in the midfield this season.’’ – Sturt coach Michael O’Connor.
CHLOE HARDING
(Glenelg)
Forward/ruck, 19, 184cm
“She’ll play a forward/ruck combo for us and is a really good overhead mark. Chloe is a naturally gifted athlete who is a pretty good kick of the footy for someone who is quite tall. She has the ability to win a contest in the air with her strong overhead marking.’’ – Glenelg coach Lexi Edwards.
CHARLI HAZELHURST
(Norwood)
Half-back/utility, 16, 176cm
“Charli has the versatility to be able to play in virtually any position on the ground, which is a big bonus for us. She was an All-Australian under-16 last year across half-back, so that’s probably where we’ll play her, but she can also play in the midfield, ruck, forward or wing. That gives us some great positional flexibility if we are struggling in any particular area. She has great strength and competitiveness, the ability to take a contested mark and win the ball at ground level and her foot skills are unbelievable. I’m not sure I have seen too many kids like Charli and we know we’ll only have her for another two seasons because I have no doubt she will be drafted.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
AUDREY HOLT
(Woodville-West Torrens)
Half-back/wing, 20, 170cm
“Audrey is in the best nick of her life with her strength and running ability. She is an amazing athlete who has gone from being a very good runner to an elite one. She can play as a lockdown defender or someone who can give us real drive off half-back or play on the wing. We are hoping she takes the next step in her development and that we can push her up the ground a bit because her skills are coming along. Overall, she is just such a reliable player who is a real competitor with a bit of white line fever.’’ – Eagles coach Narelle Smith.
EMMA KILPATRICK
(West Adelaide)
Defender/midfielder, 17, 168cm
“Emma is mainly a running defender who will also roll through our midfield and possibly on a wing, where she did some fantastic work in a trial game. To her credit, she worked her butt off in the off-season and came back to training and smashed all of her previous testing records for speed and endurance, which was awesome. That will allow her to spend more time further up the ground, which could be a real asset for us, and we’re looking forward to a big year from her.’’ – West coach Bruce Dawes.
MADISON LANE
(Central District)
Key defender, 21, 162cm
“Has a very mature head on her shoulders for someone who has just turned 21. She is powerful and hard at it and has worked hard on her endurance. Madison backs herself in, takes the game on and is super reliable, doing her job every week. She is one of our leaders and has become a better player through spending time with the Crows as a train-on player.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
KIANA LEE
(Norwood)
Wing, 22, 174cm
“Kiana has the best football brain on our list, often seeing play unfolding before even the coaches do. Her understanding of the game and ability to read the play is second to none and she is an unbelievably good decision maker. Coupled with her outstanding hand and foot skills, she’s a real threat and hopefully will be able to turn games by herself this year.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
ELOISE MACKERETH
(Glenelg)
Forward, 16, 174cm
“Eloise’s strengths are her strong overhead marking and goal awareness. She is a really athletic kid who reads the play well and is a natural footballer. She also had a pretty decent kick on her which allows her to be a good finisher in front of goal.’’ – Glenelg coach Lexi Edwards.
GRACE MARTIN
(Woodville-West Torrens)
Midfielder/forward, 17, 169cm
“Grace is in Henley High School’s football program and her transformation in the past six-to- 12 months has been exceptional. She’s grown over summer and got herself a speed and kicking coach in the off-season and it’s paid dividends. She has played mainly as a forward but I’m expecting her to be one of our starting midfielders this season. Grace is the number one kick in our side, possessing sublime foot skills, and we’re now looking for her to take more responsibility with ball carrying. We expect her to be one of our best players who could easily get drafted.’’ – Eagles coach Narelle Smith.
TAYA MAXWELL
(South Adelaide)
Key forward/ruck, 15, 184cm
“Taya has rucked in our juniors but will probably play as a key forward, likely centre half-forward, for us in her first year of senior football this year. She is an athletic tall who has the ability to monster opponents. She works really hard and while I’m not sure whether she’ll start the season in our senior team, she has a great future and I think by the end of the year will be one of our most exciting prospects.’’ – South coach Rick Watts.
GEORGIA MCKEE
(Central District)
Small forward, 17, 160cm
“Georgia is an AFL National Academy squad member who is coming off an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that cost her the 2023 season. She has great skills on both sides of her body and terrific goal knowledge. Her ability to use her left or right foot is outstanding and so is her game sense. She’ll be a very dangerous forward for us and I think her and Jas (Evans) will work together well and prove a real handful for opposition teams.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
CHANTELLE MITCHELL
Woodville-West Torrens
Forward, 23, 160cm
“Chantelle is one of those natural footballers who is silky smooth. She’s come from Mildura, has a SANFL traineeship, is in her second pre-season with us and is really starting to find her feet at the level. When she’s on (her game), she is electrifying, an unbelievably smooth mover who has super speed and knows where the goals are. No-one can catch her when she puts the after-burners on, so now we are just looking for more consistency.’’ – Eagles coach Narelle Smith.
COBY MORGAN
(Norwood)
Wing, 17, 176cm
“Coby played as a small forward for us last year but will move to the wing this year. She’s lightning quick – we probably have three of the fastest four or five players in the competition and she’s one of them. Coby has worked really hard on her skills, especially her kicking, and has come a long way, which has enabled her to move up the ground. Her ability to get separation with her speed is what separates her from most other players. I don’t think you’ll see her chased down too often.’’ – Norwood coach Brad Ferrall.
TAMSYN MORRISS
(Glenelg)
Defender, 22, 169cm
“Tamsyn has a great ability to read the play and is a really good intercept defender. She’s a very trustworthy player who is a good disposer of the ball while also being able to lock down on an opponent. We want to try to get the ball in her hands more because she is such a good kick.’’ – Glenelg coach Lexi Edwards.
VIOLET PATTERSON
(Glenelg)
Wing/midfielder, 18, 170cm
“Violet will bring plenty of speed, agility and tackle pressure to our team. Last year she played mainly on the wing but this year she’ll be looking to get more midfield minutes for us. Her ability to break lines with her run and carry will be important for us while her tackling pressure is massive for someone who is pretty slight in stature.’’ – Glenelg coach Lexi Edwards.
BIANCA PORTARO
(Woodville-West Torrens)
Small defender/midfielder, 17, 168cm
“Bianca has traditionally been a small back but this year we want to try to get her up the ground a bit more and give her some midfield minutes. She has been in our program for three years and has really taken the next step as an athlete. For her age, Bianca is really mature with her communication and control, whether it be behind the ball or at a stoppage, and her footy IQ is coming along well. She is really driven to be the best player she can be.’’ – Eagles coach Narelle Smith.
INDIA RASHEED
(Sturt)
Forward/midfielder, 17, 173cm
“India played as a forward as a junior but we gave her a bit of a run through the middle last year and she’ll play a combination of both this season. She is massively talented, probably one of the first real generations of kids coming through the system with high level football skills. She’s a hard worker, has a big engine and genuine football craft. She has a booming left-foot kick on her and an ability to shape the ball (at goal) with snaps and checksides. India is touted around the place as being the best player in her age group, which is exciting for her and her future. She’s come through our junior program and played a couple of seasons of senior footy now, which have been a little injury-interrupted, and she’s had a strong pre-season this year, so she will be really important for us. I think it’s fair to say this will be her last year of SANFLW before she moves into the bigger system, so we are looking forward to watching her go about it and really take control of some games.’’ Sturt coach Michael O’Connor.
CHARLOTTE RIGGS
(Central District)
Key defender, 17, 179cm
“Charlotte is an AFL National Academy squad member and one of the state’s most exciting young players. She is a great intercept mark and plays smart with her knowledge of the game and positioning. She very rarely gets beaten in one-on-one contests and will be a very important player for us this season.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
ESTHER SCHIRMER
(South Adelaide)
Key defender, 17, 177cm
“Esther made The Advertiser SANFLW Team of the Year last year as a 16-year-old. She’s one of our taller players and is a mobile defender who can play on talls and smalls. She was able to go head-to-head with Lauren Young (West Adelaide’s 2021 SANFLW best and fairest winner and now Port Adelaide AFLW recruit) last year, along with most of the best SANFLW key forwards, and hold her own. She is very disciplined and one of those defenders who just gets the job done each week. She has really good closing speed and rarely gives her opponent any room to move.’’ – South coach Rick Watts.
POPPY SCHOLZ
(Glenelg)
Half-back, 17, 179cm
“The younger sister of Port Adelaide ruckman Matilda Scholz, Poppy is a multi-sport athlete, also holding a SASI scholarship for netball. She is a member of the AFL National Academy squad, is athletic, agile and hard working and will play as an intercept defender for us. Poppy made The Advertiser SANFLW Team of the Year last year in just her second season of senior football and will provide us with plenty of run off half-back. She is a massively exciting prospect who will go in the (AFLW) draft for sure this year.’’ – Glenelg coach Lexi Edwards.
GEORGIA SWAN
(Sturt)
Forward/midfielder, 20, 170cm
“Another product of our junior system, Georgia is a really smart footballer who has very good skills to match her footy mind. She’s able to read the play and see the angles well and when she has the ball in hand we know it’s going to be well executed by her. She’s been able to build her fitness base in the past couple of years and has benefited from being a train-on player with Port Adelaide. Georgia has had a couple of strong seasons, making The Advertiser SANFLW Team of the Year last season, and we envisage her being able to build further on them.’’ – Sturt coach Michael O’Connor.
CHLOE TONKIN
(West Adelaide)
Forward/ruck, 16, 184cm
“Chloe battled injury last year before forcing her way into the senior team and finishing the season off strongly, which was awesome. As a 15-year-old she was able to make a really strong impact. For someone who is so young she has a lot of natural leadership qualities. Physically, Chloe is very strong at the footy, enabling her to compete well in the ruck and provide strong marking contests. She’ll start forward for us and pinch-hit in the ruck.’’ – West coach Bruce Dawes.
DJIMILA TOTHAM
(North Adelaide)
Midfielder/forward, 22, 160cm
“Djimila has jumped up this pre-season and been our biggest improver. As she has learnt the roles we want her to play, her confidence has grown. She’s quick, tough, doesn’t like losing a contest and is pretty clean with the ball as well. She’s a bit of a hybrid mid, who can play inside and outside the contest, and also go forward at times. Her potential is such that we don’t know how high her ceiling is.’’ – North coach Jason Fairall.
SOPHIE THREDGOLD
(Sturt)
Defender, 16, 167cm
“Sophie’s speed and agility are her strengths at a young age. She hasn’t played league footy yet but after being in our development program last year she has really benefited from another pre-season. Her fitness attributes not only rate highly at our club but in testing across the league. We envisage her debuting this year and being able to show off her skills. She’ll play as a defender and inject some speed into our backline.’’ – Sturt coach Michael O’Connor.
ZOE VENNING
(West Adelaide)
Midfielder/forward, 20, 168cm
“Zoe won our best and fairest award last season and was runner-up in the SANFLW best and fairest (behind Glenelg’s Piper Window), highlighting her strong season. She is a big ball winner (her 276 disposals was the most in the SANFLW last season) and has since spent time with the Crows’ as a train-on player, which has helped with her game sense understanding. Apart from being able to win her own footy and get the ball moving forward for us, Zoe is a real leader on the ground, giving great direction and helping to set the team up structurally. She is one of our most important players.’’ – West coach Bruce Dawes.
JAYDE VISSER
(North Adelaide)
Defender, 17, 159cm
“Jayde is quick and skilful and has added a harder edge to her game this pre-season. She is still learning to become stronger in the contest but she has great skills and will provide us with plenty of run off half-back.’’ – North coach Jason Fairall.
LAYLA VIZGAUDIS
(South Adelaide)
Midfielder/forward, 15, 161cm
“Layla is Emma Charlton’s partner in crime. They are very similar players and in an under-15s carnival (state) game they scored 12 goals between them rotating from the midfield to attack. Like Emma, there is nothing of Layla (physically) but she is really explosive and doesn’t fear anyone. She has a high workrate, applies great pressure on the opposition and hits the scoreboard. ’’ – South coach Rick Watts.
ZARA WALSH
(Sturt)
Forward, 18, 174cm
“Zara possesses X-factor qualities. She has plenty of speed and, at 174cm, is a nice hybrid forward. She is super quick and in her second year of senior footy we’re expecting her to be able to use her attributes to really challenge defenders. We think her speed will allow her to get to the outside and get plenty of shots on goal.’’ – Sturt coach Michael O’Connor.
CHERYLLEE WATERS
(Woodville-West Torrens)
Midfielder/defender, 19, 164cm
“Has just had her first real serious pre-season since finishing school and hasn’t missed a beat. Her ball use and skill capabilities are really good, with her foot skills, speed and lateral movement being real features of her game. Cheryllee will give us some run off half back and creativity with her ability to work her way through density.’’ – Eagles coach Narelle Smith.
CAITLIN WENDLAND
(Central District)
Midfielder/forward, 20, 170cm
“Caitlin is highly-skilled with a damaging left-foot kick. She’s a good clearance player with great goal sense. She made last year’s The Advertiser SANFL Team of the Year and also played three AFLW games with the Brisbane Lions. She is a Central girl and it’s great to have her back. She’s classy and her superb left foot enables her to get out of danger more easily and is a real blessing for our team.’’ – Central coach Ben Hunt.
JEMMA WHITINGTON-CHARITY
(North Adelaide)
Forward/midfielder, 18, 170cm
“Jemma is primarily a forward who will push through our midfield as well. She’s probably the best kick at our club and would rival anyone in the competition with that. She has come over from the Eagles and apart from being an elite kick is strong and powerful. She is now learning to become more versatile so she can play that mid-forward role.’’ – North coach Jason Fairall.
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