Full list: SANFLW’s rising stars of the 2023 season | Georgie Jacques surprised by dad after being drafted to Port
See the beautiful moment a SANFLW star learns she’ll be following in her dad’s footsteps as she’s drafted to Port. Plus the coaches give their verdicts on this year’s standout stars.
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With only a few weeks left of the SANFL women’s season, there have no doubt been absolute standout star players from each of the eight Adelaide teams.
The 2023 season has had some major successes, with some players knocking their stats out of the park and some being drafted in the AFLW.
In the beginning of the season, we put together a list of the players to watch, and now you get to see who the coaches think came out on top.
We asked the coaches to nominate their two top picks this season and why. Check out their nominations below.
Norwood
GEORGIE JACQUES
Georgie Jacques was drafted into Port Adelaide’s AFLW team after just one season playing for Norwood.
Jacques, 19, follows in her dad Daniel Jacques’ footsteps, who played 28 games and was in the team which won the SANFL premiership with the Magpies in 1998.
Jacques, a proud Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara woman, moved to Adelaide from Canberra to start her SANFL career in January. After a few short months with Norwood, she was drafted into the Port Adelaide AFLW team.
“I moved out of home to play with Norwood as they offered me a spot, after I trialled with them, to play in SANFL to hopefully get picked up,” Jacques said.
“I just didn’t think I’d be getting picked up this quickly.”
On the night she was drafted, her dad flew in from Canberra to surprise her.
“I was fooled. I can’t believe I was fooled by my dad, he said he wasn’t coming and then he pranked me.”
Her introduction into footy began at age 14 in high school. Jacques was a keen basketballer but wanted to try AFL “as it was something different”.
“I was ready to move on from basketball and I always thought I wanted to give footy a try as dad played it, so why don’t I?” Jacques said.
“It was during a time when women’s footy was becoming popular so I started playing at the local football club.
“Now it’s crazy. I’m most surprised with how quickly being part of the SANFL competition and a SANFL team went to how quickly I had to develop, then being picked by an actual AFL team wanting to develop me further was so surprising.”
Jacques played as a ruck for Norwood and with Port will have the same number as her dad, number 43.
Norwood coach Brad Snell said it “was a very good decision by Port to grab her”.
“She’s obviously a ruck, she is unbelievable. Her on-field stuff was pretty exceptional so I was pretty confident after round five we wouldn’t have her long,” Snell said.
Port Adelaide list manager Naomi Maidment said the team sees Jacques’ potential as a key defender and potential second ruck if required.
“She has a strong overhead mark and the ability to win ruck contests. She’s been playing well for Norwood this SANFLW season and we can’t wait to see how she will develop in an AFLW program,” Maidment said.
TAHLITA BUETHKE
Also hailing from Norwood is Tahlita Buethke. Norwood coach Brad Snell said Buethke has gone from “strength to strength” this season and is probably leading the best and fairest tally for the team.
Buethke, 21, came from South Adelaide to Norwood at the start of the year and plays on the wing and as a midfielder. Snell believes she will be on the radar for a lot of AFL clubs.
“Her strengths have been her speed and contest work and what’s been pleasing is that she’s growing her aerobic base, which was an area she knew she had to work on,” Snell said.
“And that’s allowing her possessions to go up because she’s just finding more of the ball. She’s becoming a real leader in the group which is really pleasing.”
Woodville-West Torrens
SHINEAH GOODY
Shineah Goody has been tipped by her Woodville-West Torrens Eagles coach Narelle Smith to end up at Port Adelaide one day.
“She’s just an incredible ball accumulator, but one of her main features for me is her aerial ability. She plays well above her size, she’s quite small in stature but she’s got incredible aerial which is quite a rare thing in the women’s game at the moment,” Smith said.
Goody, 17, is from Edithburgh on the Eyre Peninsula and travels with her parents to games multiple times a week.
“She’s already a household name in SANFLW circles … her strengths are everything,” Smith said.
“Goody can play anywhere really, she’s really flexible. I’ve been playing her on the wing this season to teach her some different running patterns. She tends to be able to give us some defensive and offensive runs from that position and it’s a really difficult position to play.”
MARLIE FIEGERT
Described by her Woodville-West Torrens Eagles coach Narelle Smith as a “total opposite player” to Goody, Fiegert is an inside midfielder and has really come into her own this year.
“Often the inside mids don’t get the accolades of the flashy players but she’s really come into her own this year,” Smith said.
“She decided she really wanted to have a big pre-season and her disposal counts at an all time high.
“Fiegert’s really critical to our inside pace with getting the ball to the outside for us and she’s just been a real delight to coach her and watch her work through challenges.”
Smith said the seventeen-year-old’s biggest strength this season is working on her physical profile.
“She can get around the ground a lot. She gets to a lot of contest and she’s just starting to work on her offensive drive out of stoppage in contest and that’s been another part to her game,” Smith said.
Central District
CHARLOTTE RIGGS
Charlotte Riggs is part of the state under 18’s and has been consistency in Central District’s best and has “been playing good footy” according to coach Ben Hunt.
The 16 year old is climbing up the ranks and has been consistent for the team all season.
“Her game’s developing, she played in the under 18’s last week in the state carnival and she has been developing and improving every week,” Hunt said.
This is her second season with Central District, coming up from the junior program.
“This year she has taken her game to another level and is now consistently in our best players and reads the game really well,” Hunt said.
SHELBY RAVEN
Shelby Raven has shone in her first season. She was identified in the country championships last year and packed up her life in Broken Hill to come down to Adelaide to play for Central District.
“She’s developing more and more as a player,” coach Ben Hunt said.
“She’s moved her whole life down to Adelaide because she wants to be a league footballer and maybe even a AFLW player.”
Raven, 27, plays on the wing and Hunt said she is “really speedy”.
“She plays the role that the team needs and she’s done that really well, she’s worked really hard on her game on and off the field.”
Sturt
MONIQUE BESSEN
Coach Michael O’Connor said Monique Bessen, age 16, had been a “standout” for him this season.
“She’s really good in terms of pound for pound strength and certainly her skills in getting the ball off the ground,” O’Connor said.
“Monique has been really clean and really consistent across the ten rounds so far and she’s certainly up there for us at the moment.”
Bessen plays as a half-forward and as a midfielder and has been regarded by O’Connor as a “fantastic player” in her first season of senior footy and has gone from strength to strength. She has also played this year in the under 16 state team as well as in the under 18 squad.
“She’s got potential, the guys involved at the state level have identified her as a talent going forward … she’s playing above her age group and is certainly a good football talent across the board,” O’Connor said.
KATE HARRIS
Captain of Sturt Kate Harris has caught O’Connor’s eye with her game this season.
“Kate’s been super consistent throughout the year playing inside-mid. We’ve had a bit of rotation through there with personnel but she’s been our main stayer within that role,” O’Connor said.
“She’s got really good physical contest inside and strong defensive pressure in terms of her tackle numbers.”
Harris, 30, is “relishing” in her role as captain of the team and has been with Sturt for four years. She recently played her 50th game with the club.
“She’s a good leader for the group in terms of having more experience under her belt … she’s got a good balance of making sure she’s working hard and leading by her actions as well as making sure everyone else is in a good spot,” O’Connor said.
West Adelaide
ZOE VENNING
Zoe Venning has proved herself this season to be regarded as “outstanding” and “the most consistent player” West Adelaide has seen this year by coach Bruce Dawes.
“She’s really developed her own role as a midfielder and has been a real leader in the midfield group as well,” Dawes said.
“She assists younger girls with their structures and learning where to be and set up and bits and pieces which has been excellent for us.”
Dawes said Venning, 18, is a “workhorse” and “just runs and runs and runs”. Venning’s whole senior career has been at West Adelaide and she is currently top of the player’s stats with 10 matches played and 239 disposals.
“She’s improved her kick, improved her skills and definitely benefiting from the hard work,” Dawes said.
LAUREN YOUNG
At just 17, Lauren Young has a “massive chance to be drafted” to the AFLW, which Dawes is in full support of.
“Lauren’s been great, obviously coming off her ACL injury from last year. It’s taken a little while to get going again but every week from round one even she’s gotten better and better,” Dawes said.
“Even her game on the weekend was outstanding. We’ve played her more up forward this year than a midfielder and she’s taken onto that role really well.”
Young is “dangerous” as a forward for West Adelaide.
“She’s been fantastic for us and has a great attitude where she’s very relaxed but once it’s game time, she can really switch on and perform,” Dawes said.
Glenelg
PIPER WINDOW
Piper Window is this year’s captain of the state team and has one of the best approaches to improvement her coach, Lexia Edwards, has ever seen.
“She’s normally the first one at training and the last one to leave and that shines through in her game for sure,” Edwards said.
Window, 17, is mainly a midfielder for Glenelg but can be a forward with good overheads and contested marking. She’s played for the Tigers for two years and Edwards said she was one of their biggest improvements.
“She’s really really fast, she’s really really strong and very good at reading the clearance and ground balls, she’s come a long way,” Edwards said.
“Piper’s been killing it this year.”
TAMSYN MORRISS
Tamsyn Morriss, 20, has been with Glenelg for five years and is regarded by Edwards as an “unrecognised talent”.
“She plays in the backline, she was in the Premiership year and she’s a really stable backliner. I think it’s really hard for defenders they don’t get a lot of accolades,” Edwards said.
“Tamsyn is really good at leading the play, absolute weapon of a kick, she’s really accurate.”
North Adelaide
JESSICA EDWARDS
Jessica Edwards is second from the top in terms of stats, playing 10 matches with 213 disposals.
Coach Krissie Steen said the 33-year-old midfielder was an amazing leader as co-captain this year.
“Her running capacity is phenomenal and she would probably run anywhere from 140 metres a minute up to around 148 metres a minute,” Steen said.
“She’s a cool head on the field and she’s like an on-field coach."
Edwards has been with North Adelaide since the SANFLW began and continues to impress her team and coach.
ISABELLE STARMER
Steen said Isabelle Starmer, 26, was snatched from Central District as a ruck to play with North Adelaide this season.
“She’s such a hard worker as a ruck, she’s not the tallest ruck but she’s completely mobile so it’s like having a forth midfielder on the park,” Steen said.
“She’s also really contested, but I think her biggest attribute is her personality and how she is such a great member of the team. She really adds to the culture, she’s lovely and she’s fun.”
South Adelaide
CAITLIN COUCH
Talk about dedication.
Caitlin Couch flies down every weekend to play with South Adelaide from Alice Springs.
Couch, 33, is part of the team’s pink tails program which helps give girls from remote communities opportunities to play footy. She trains in Alice Springs then comes to Adelaide for matches.
“She’s been one of our absolute highlights in our midfield and one of our standouts,” coach Rick Watts said.
“She’s worked on her endurance in the pre-season and her athletic profile really changed to have the ability to get to a lot of contest. She wasn’t able to do that last year.”
ELISE BARWICK
From North Hobart, Elise Barwick started playing for South Adelaide this year. Watts has her playing defensive forward and said her best attributes were her speed and ability to leap, jump and bring the footy to ground.
The 23-year-old’s defensive pressure, as well as her speed, has made her a standout for her coach.
“Coming from playing state league in Tasmania we weren’t fully aware of how she’d be able to impact our program and what level she’d be able to get to but since joining our program she’s been one of the hardest workers,” Watts said.
“She sacrifices for the team, so she doesn’t always wear the cape but she does all the hard things like the blocks and tackles which we really reward.”
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