WESTERN Australia has always been deemed a strong footy state. But in recent years it hasn't necessarily produced a mountain of AFLW talent.

There have been top end picks, Molly O'Hehir and Zippy Fish were drafted with picks three and five to Melbourne and Sydney respectively last year, and a total of five WA players selected.

But this year, things look different. Western Australia has the deepest potential draft pool it has had since the AFLW began, with arguably six players vying for selection within the top 20 come December, and a host of others likely to land at clubs after that.

It's not by accident, either, with the WA talent pathways program investing more in their teens in an effort to produce the best talent possible, with that much evident in the state's strong Marsh AFL National Under-18 Girls Championships squad, and six WA girls included in the national academy.

"This group's the first group that we've had for three years in our program," WA female talent manager and coaching specialist Trent Cooper told AFL.com.au.

"Before it was sort of bringing (players) in a few weeks before the champs and go, but now we do the full pre-season, so from November through to March they're with us, all training together. So, that's one thing, is the resources that we can put around them, but two is those players being around the best and comparing themselves to each other rather than comparing themselves to lesser players.

"That drives them to push each other… they're playing against each other every stage at training, so there's no easy wins for them, they've got to fight for everything."

Olivia Wolmarans is widely considered the best key forward prospect in this year's draft crop, standing at 181cm and boasting a booming right boot. Olivia Crane is a powerhouse at the other end of the ground as a 181cm key defender.

Evie Cowcher, although currently working her way through a back concern, is the ideal intercepting defender, Alicia Blizard is a mid-sized forward who can take a mark but excels with her cleanliness at ground level, and basketballer Alira Fotu made her successful return from a knee injury last week, adding to the scoreboard power of WA's side.

Meanwhile, through the middle of the ground there is an embarrassment of riches with Mia Russo, Renee Morgan, Juliet Kelly, and Carys D'Addario all reliable ball-winners.

There is a sense of excitement for Cooper, who has led the program since departing Fremantle at the end of 2022 (S7).

"Still sort of temporary expectations, making sure that they're still doing everything right, so I don't really reflect on (the pride) at the moment," Cooper said.

"I will, hopefully, when I'm watching (them) play AFLW in a few years' time, and that's when you can really enjoy what you've done here. But at the moment, yes, just doing everything we can to get them ready.

"Be hard on them when we need to be, and then just keep pushing them along as well. And they're a really driven group who take on a lot themselves and don't need to push too hard, this group."