St Kilda has several prospective talents in its sights ahead of Wednesday night’s NAB AFL Women’s Draft, with a range of high-calibre midfielders and key position players up for grabs in the early stages of the evening.
The Saints will add a maximum of four new names to their playing list by tomorrow, following on from its aggressive Sign & Trade Period which brought in experienced players Nicola Stevens, Erin McKinnon, Grace Kelly and Clara Fitzpatrick.
St Kilda has already committed to signing father-daughter recruit Caitlin Matthews to strengthen its future defensive stocks, leaving a further three picks – including Victorian pick No. 7 – to add to its developing young core.
Expansion clubs Essendon and Hawthorn will have first crack at Victoria’s top-end talent sharing the first six selections of the state pool before St Kilda enters with its selection.
Outside runners Rylie Wilcox and Keeley Skepper shape as likely high-end selections to potentially add to the club’s run and carry, Vic Metro captain and on-baller Charlotte Baskaran has all the right attributes to develop into a future leader, while highly touted midfielders Amber Clarke and Jasmine Fleming are also tipped to go early on Wednesday night.
DRAFT PROSPECTS: View womens.afl's list of top talents from around the country
The Saints could also boost either end through Mackenzie Eardley or Paige Scott respectively, with the former being named at full-back in the AFLW U18 All-Australian side.
“We have quite a few options available to choose from at this year’s NAB AFL Women’s Draft, and we’re confident whoever we select will be great additions to the club,” AFLW List Manager Scott Whyte said.
“Despite Essendon and Hawthorn having first access to the Victorian draft pool, we believe there will still be several top-tier selections on the table who will be integral to our list looking forward.
“We’ll keep an open mind as we enter the later stages of the draft, also bearing in mind that one of our picks will be used to secure Caitlin Matthews.”
St Kilda will take Victorian pick No. 7, 36, 41 and 44 (pick No. 16, 63, 74 and 81 overall respectively) into Wednesday night’s NAB AFL Women’s Draft.
The 2022 NAB AFL Women's Draft will be streamed on womens.afl on Wednesday 29 June, with coverage beginning from 7:00pm AEST.
Club by club draft picks
Adelaide: 40, 69, 71
Brisbane: 41, 57, 70, 78
Carlton: 17, 18, 48, 67
Collingwood: 30, 56, 76
Essendon: 4, 8, 32, 35, 46, 62, 73
Fremantle: 27, 59, 77, 83, 85
Geelong: 33, 42, 55
Gold Coast: 19, 34, 52, 65
GWS: 20, 64, 66, 75, 82, 84, 86, 87
Hawthorn: 2, 6, 9, 10, 22, 25, 26
Melbourne: 44, 72, 79
North Melbourne: 28, 39, 50, 51, 54
Port Adelaide: 3, 7, 23, 31, 45, 61, 80
Richmond: 38, 58, 60
St Kilda: 16, 63, 74, 81
Sydney: 1, 5, 11, 12, 13
West Coast: 14, 15, 24, 36, 43, 47, 53
Western Bulldogs: 21, 29, 37, 68
Victorian Draft Pool
1. (2 overall) Hawthorn – cannot be traded
2. (4) Essendon – cannot be traded
3. (6) Hawthorn – cannot be traded
4. (8) Essendon – cannot be traded
5. (9) Hawthorn – cannot be traded
6. (10) Hawthorn – cannot be traded
7. (16) St Kilda
8. (17) Carlton
9. (18) Carlton
10. (21) Western Bulldogs
11. (22) Hawthorn
12. (25) Hawthorn
13. (26) Hawthorn
14. (28) North Melbourne
15. (29) Western Bulldogs
16. (30) Collingwood
17. (32) Essendon
18. (33) Geelong
19. (35) Essendon
20. (37) Western Bulldogs
21. (38) Richmond
22. (39) North Melbourne
23. (42) Geelong
24. (44) Melbourne
25. (46) Essendon
26. (48) Carlton
27. (49) Melbourne
28. (50) North Melbourne
29. (51) North Melbourne
30. (54) North Melbourne
31. (55) Geelong
32. (56) Collingwood
33. (58) Richmond
34. (60) Richmond
35. (62) Essendon
36. (63) St Kilda
37. (67) Carlton
38. (68) Western Bulldogs
39. (72) Melbourne
40. (73) Essendon
41. (74) St Kilda
42. (76) Collingwood
43. (79) Melbourne
44. (81) St Kilda
