Top three AFLW draft prospect Olivia Wolmarans is set to terrorise back lines — here’s what makes her such a threat
Olivia Wolmarans does things on the field no-one can believe — least of all her. With overhead marking, pace on the lead, and running power she’ll give defenders nightmares for years.
No other key forward in the AFLW, let alone in this year’s draft pool, can do some of the things Olivia Wolmarans is capable of.
And that’s why the Subiaco star is set to be the first Western Australian taken in Monday’s draft, with Greater Western Sydney expected to pounce with one of their two top three selections.
A rare blend of size (181cm), speed and skills, Wolmarans is this year’s unicorn.
And whether she’s kicking outrageous mid-air goals or levelling the scores under immense pressure late in games, Wolmarans already boasts a freakish highlights reel.
“I think it’s instinct,” Wolmarans told Code Sports.
“Honestly, after games, I’ll watch the replay, and I’ll be like, how the hell did I do that? I didn’t even think of doing that.
“I’m a very of-the-moment player. I don’t dwell on what I did badly before. I just play my game, so I feel like it just all comes naturally, to be honest.”
For three years now, Wolmarans has been earmarked as an AFLW star of the future.
She made her WAFLW debut as a 15-year-old back in round one of 2023 and didn’t let a tough initiation faze her.
“I got three touches and I was beside myself, and then I got dropped,” Wolmarans said.
“My first year of league wasn’t amazing. I kept going between league and Rogers but I just loved it.
“The Subi girls make me feel like I’m one of them. The culture there is just amazing and I love footy.”
That year, she also debuted for Western Australia at the Under-18 national championships, kicking three goals in two games.
Only Wolmarans, Lions teammate Olivia Crane and Peel prodigy Evie Cowcher have been picked in the squad three years in a row. And for the last two, Wolmarans has been named an All-Australian.
Notwithstanding state commitments, Wolmarans has led Subiaco’s goalkicking two years in a row.
No matter how the game is being played or how much attention she receives, Wolmarans will find a way to hurt you.
She’s a threat in the air and on the lead.
“I just outrun them, to be honest,” Wolmarans said of her opponents.
“I know one of my strengths is my work rate and my consistency as well. So I know if I can’t beat them in the air, I definitely will beat them in the run.
“I love playing forward. I feel like it suits my strengths.”
Wolmarans and her family have been invited to the official AFLW draft function in Melbourne on Monday, underlining her top five chances.
While some prospects baulk at the prospect of leaving home, Wolmarans knows it’s the best thing for her career.
“Even a few years ago, when it was still a state draft, I told mum I was going to choose national,” she said.
“I want to move. I’ve always had that mindset. My mum went through it when she played netball for the South African Proteas.
“Having that support from my mum and dad, they’re not holding me back. They want me to accomplish my dreams.”
And that dream is on the cusp of becoming a reality.
“I’ll be happy with whatever team picks me up but Kaitlyn Srhoj is also at GWS so that would be nice,” she said. “But I don’t mind.
“I think little Olivia would be crying to hear my name calling out. It’s all I’ve wanted and it’s all I’ve been waiting for.”
THE NEXT ZIPPY? THE DRAFT SLIDER WHO OOZES NATURAL TALENT
He’s coached AFLW league best and fairests, All-Australians and marquee signings.
But none of them compare to Western Australian draft hopeful Evie Cowcher.
“Evie is the most natural female footballer I’ve ever worked with,” former Fremantle AFLW coach turned WA female talent manager Trent Cooper said. “She could easily be playing very good footy at AFLW level right now.”
If not for injury, Cowcher would’ve been a pick one contender in 2025.
Instead, the 18-year-old looms as a genuine steal for whatever club calls her name out on draft night.
Few have a resume like the Peel Thunder prodigy.
As a 16-year-old, she was named All-Australian in both the Under-16 and Under-18 All-Australian sides after representing both.
A year later, she was All-Australian again. And in back-to-back seasons, she was crowned WA’s MVP.
Cowcher might make it look easy. But she’s a student of the game.
“I feel like some stuff comes naturally,” a humble Cowcher told Code Sports. “But there’s always stuff to work on.
“There’s always something to be better at. There’s always something to try and improve.”
Cowcher is the perfect blend of composure, elite intercepting and sublime skills.
Just when you think you’ve seen everything from her, there’s more.
Earlier this year, Cowcher ran a personal best in the 2km time trial, setting the tone for her 2025 campaign.
But just five games into the season, she was sidelined by a stress fracture in her back.
“I started getting a sore back, so they pulled me off the track straight away to get it right and try and get back for the national championships,” Cowcher said.
“It didn’t quite go to plan.”
Out of an abundance of precaution, Cowcher was ruled out for the rest of the season.
A few clubs have been put off by her missing so much footy. But the reality is that if she were only a 50/50 draft chance, she would’ve played.
“It was a bit annoying,” Cowcher admitted.
“That’s why you play footy. You want to play every game you can play.
“I haven’t missed much footy due to injury ever. It was my first major injury. But it made sense to have a break and reset.
“I’d be nervous going into the draft, whether I’d played the whole season or not. So I’m nervous, but I’ve played a lot of footy before that.”
Cowcher has always been ahead of her time.
She was just seven years old when she started playing for her hometown Boddington in the Upper Great Southern Football League.
She joined the under-14s boys team after spending one training session on the sidelines kicking footies to them and has never looked back.
“They were a lot bigger than me!” Cowcher recalled. “They made me work for the ball.
“They always protected me. I remember when I kicked my first goal, one of my teammates got 20 people to get around me.”
Cowcher spent six years with the boys at Boddington before moving to Mandurah in 2021, where she finally started playing with the girls in Pinjarra.
A year later, she was playing for Peel Thunder in the Rogers Cup. And the year after that, she made her WAFLW debut as a 15-year-old.
The same year, she was named the Cath Boyce Rising Star as the best young talent in the WAFLW. Except in an embarrassing blunder at the Dhara Kerr Awards night, the award was initially presented to South Fremantle’s Renee Morgan due to an oversight.
Two years later, the pair are both on the verge of being drafted.
“I went up to her after the night and said congratulations, and she was pretty shocked,” Cowcher reflected.
“To be honest, I didn’t read much into it and I didn’t expect to win anything. We’re close mates and it all worked out.”
If 2025 AFLW Rising Star and fellow Sandgroper Zippy Fish was a steal at pick five in last year’s draft, Cowcher could be 2026’s equivalent.
And coincidentally, the pair are best mates, with Fish set to be there on draft night when Cowcher realises her childhood dream.
“We’re tight as anything, Cowcher said.
“We’re the same type of person. We do our own thing and we’re not fazed by much.
“It would mean the world (to be drafted). I’ve worked so hard for it. It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a young girl.”
Originally published as Top three AFLW draft prospect Olivia Wolmarans is set to terrorise back lines — here’s what makes her such a threat
