At a glance:
- St Kilda has eyes on revving up its engine room and bolstering its tall stocks heading into the 2021 NAB AFL Women's Draft.
- The Saints hold picks No. 4 and No. 12 – both Victorian top-10 selections – as well as pick No. 36.
- The 2021 NAB AFL Women's Draft will be livestreamed on Tuesday 27 July with coverage beginning from 6:45pm.
St Kilda has eyes on revving up its engine room and bolstering its tall stocks heading into Tuesday’s NAB AFL Women’s Draft.
The Saints hold an advantageous position within this year’s draft order, headlined by two top-10 selections (pick No. 2 and No. 8) in the Victorian pool (picks No. 4 and No. 12 overall).
St Kilda has snared high-calibre midfielders with its previous opening selections, bringing in two-time Best & Fairest Georgia Patrikios (pick No. 5, 2019) and 2020 runner-up Tyanna Smith (pick No. 6, 2020) in the past two drafts.
The plan appears to be no different in 2021, with a number of quality on-ballers – including Georgie Prespakis, Amanda Ling and Tess Craven – likely to be snapped up early on Tuesday night.
Add in the Saints’ hopes of shifting Patrikios and Smith into more of their natural outside roles this coming season, and adding inside power to complement the likes of the returning Olivia Vesely and Rosie Dillon will be top priority.
DRAFT PROSPECTS: View the potential stars of the future
“There’s a strong pool of talent available in the top 10 of this year’s draft and we’re excited to see who we’ll be able to bring on board for the upcoming season,” Head of Women’s Football Jamie Cox said.
“Whoever we end up taking with our two top-10 Victorian picks, we know that we’ll have brought in tremendous talents who will be vital for us moving forward.”
Securing a tall forward/ruck option will be just as important on Tuesday night to help alleviate the strain on key targets Caitlin Greiser and Kate Shierlaw and support Rhi Watt in ruck.
The spread of goalkickers has been thin over the past two seasons, and is again an area the Saints will be keen to address with their second selection.
Greiser took out consecutive club goalkicking honours with nine majors in 2021, Shierlaw followed in second with six, while injury replacement player Jess Matin drew level with the third-placed Darcy Guttridge (four) courtesy of a three-goal bag in the final game of the season.
Adding potential ruck depth will also be front of mind after the Saints traded Poppy Kelly to Richmond in exchange for pick No. 48.
The Saints brought in ex-Tiger Alana Woodward (delisted free agent) and rookie selection Paige Price during this year’s Sign & Trade Period.
St Kilda’s Draft Selections
2019
Pick No. 5 – Georgia Patrikios
Pick No. 24 – Rosie Dillon
Pick No. 27 – Nicola Xenos
Pick No. 30 – Tamara Luke
Pick No. 33 – Tarni White
Pick No. 41 – Hannah Priest
2020
Pick No. 6 – Tyanna Smith
Pick No. 24 – Alice Burke
Pick No. 34 – Renee Saulitis
Pick No. 40 – Jacqui Vogt
2021
Pick No. 4 – TBC
Pick No. 12 – TBC
Pick No. 36 – TBC
