THE WESTERN Bulldogs will head into Monday's AFLW Draft with four first-round picks – three in the top six – after an eventful trade period.

The Dogs once again lost a host of senior players, with former No.1 pick Gab Newton (Fremantle), All-Australian midfielder and heart and soul player Kirsty Lamb (Port Adelaide), key forward/ruck Celine Moody (Carlton) and All-Australian defender Katie Lynch (Gold Coast) all requesting trades.

Having finished last, the Western Bulldogs had finished with the No.1 pick, which was a potential trading tool in a massive bid for current All-Australian ruck Ally Morphett, who opted to stay with Sydney.

They brought in experienced defenders Lauren Ahrens (Gold Coast), Mua Laloifi (Carlton), midfielder Ellie Gavalas (North Melbourne), and two young players in key forward Analea McKee (Brisbane, six games) and Jasmyn Smith (Gold Coast, five games).

The Dogs now sit with picks No. 1, 4 and 6, as well as pick No.11. They also have a third-rounder if they wish to use it.

A whopping 12 first-rounders changed hands during the week-long trade period, with the vast majority of swaps part of the "super mega trade" broken by AFL.com.au.

Both Collingwood and Melbourne have boosted their early draft hand, the Pies adding a second first-rounder in the top 10, and the Dees adding pick No.5 and raising 16 to 12.

West Coast has also brought in an additional first-rounder.

Picks 11, 19 and 21 changed hands three times in a single week.

The draft pool itself is slightly different this year for a few reasons.

This cohort of players were 15 and 16 during the covid-affected years of 2020 and 2021, considered a crucial period for sporting development.

A host of potential first-rounders were also removed from the pool as part of the expansion academy pre-signings (Lauren Young, Shineah Goody, Molly Brooksby, Laura Stone, Jess Vukic, Hayley McLaughlin, Amy Gaylor and Holly Cooper), while Matilda Scholz and Darcie Davies were fast-tracked to the AFLW ahead of the 2023 season.

The first national/state draft also throws a spanner in the works – while around 70 per cent of nominees have selected the national pool, some of the top talent have nominated to only be drafted in their home state, such as SANFLW B&F Piper Window.

As it stands, dynamic key forward Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner is considered front-runner for the No.1 pick.

There are 21 picks in the first round due to three compensation picks for players changing clubs last season – pick 11 (Collingwood for Chloe Molloy, now Western Bulldogs), 12 (Brisbane for Emily Bates, now Melbourne) and 21 (Carlton for Lucy McEvoy, now Brisbane).