Mystery surrounds just who the Western Bulldogs will take with the number one pick in Tuesday's NAB AFLW Draft in Melbourne.
Northern Knights midfielder/forward Gabby Newton has long been touted as a possible first selection, but a very strong year from Calder Cannons winger Georgia Patrikios – who was named player of the NAB AFLW under-18 championships – has pushed her into contention.
Geelong Falcons utility Lucy McEvoy has bolted into predictions after nominating the Melbourne metro portion of the draft, after being previously expected to choose Geelong.
Carlton follows the Dogs with pick two, while St Kilda is the lucky beneficiary of McEvoy's decision, able to select the remainder of the trio with pick five (the third Melbourne metro selection in the state-based draft).
The Blues have the near-impossible task of replacing skipper Brianna Davey, who crossed to Collingwood over the off-season, with the big-bodied McEvoy the closest fit – albeit several years behind in development.
Brisbane has pick three, with small midfielder and Queensland skipper Lily Postlethwaite one of a few players the Lions would be weighing up with their early selection.
Greater Western Sydney (pick four) has shown a tendency to draft older and also re-select previously delisted players, and Tait Mackrill could find her way back onto the Giants' list after a strong winter, while defender Georgia Garnett is the best of the under-18s from New South Wales.
GRANT TO BE BULLDOGS’ FIRST FATHER-DAUGHTER PICK
Melbourne doesn't enter the draft until pick 54, after trading away its first and third-rounder for Libby Birch. Its second-rounder was conceded when it retained Casey Sherriff – Daisy Pearce's maternity replacement – upon Pearce's return.
It'll also be a long wait for Collingwood, which gave up a huge haul of picks for the services of Davey. The Pies' first selection is at pick 67.
New clubs Gold Coast (pick 18), Richmond (six), St Kilda (five) and West Coast (19) will all have their first ever draft selections ahead of their entry to the AFLW in 2020.
THE BASICS
- There will be 14 AFLW clubs in 2020, with Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast joining existing clubs Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, GWS, Melbourne, North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs
- In all, there are 102 live draft selections. Clubs have the option to not use its final pick and filling the list spot with an undrafted free agent at the end of the draft
- Millie Brown (Geelong) and Isabella Grant (Western Bulldogs) have already been guaranteed a list spot as father-daughter selections, with the picks used on the pair to be named during the draft
- Grace Egan (Carlton), Sophie McDonald (West Coast) and Richmond trio Laura Bailey, Kate Dempsey and Alana Woodward have already been selected as academy nominated players
- Due to the part-time nature of the competition, players can nominate the region where they wish to be drafted
- Tasmania is aligned with North Melbourne, while Victoria is divided into three draft categories – Victoria (all eight clubs), Melbourne metro (seven clubs minus Geelong) and Geelong
- Queensland is split into two zones between Brisbane and Gold Coast, with players able to nominate their zone of residence or the entire state
- The draft order was decided by the reverse of the 2019 ladder, with changes made through trades and additional picks granted to the new clubs to help with their list builds. Compensation picks were also given to some clubs who lost players to expansion sides
