The 2025 NAB AFLW All-Australian team after it was announced during the W Awards at Centrepiece. Picture: AFL Photos

THE AFL has appointed AFLW pioneers Debbie Lee, Meghan McDonald and Kirby Bentley to the AFLW All-Australian panel ahead of the 2026 NAB AFLW Season.

A key figure in the establishment of the AFLW competition, Lee played 302 VWFL games and was a three-time premiership player, six-time All-Australian, seven-time club champion and five-time league best and fairest medallist.

In recognition of her contribution to the game, she made history in 2021 as the first woman inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

A Noongar Yamatji woman and inaugural AFLW player, Bentley has had a significant influence on the game both on and off the field through her playing career at Fremantle and Carlton, coaching roles at Essendon and the Western Bulldogs, and advocacy for youth and mental health.

Her contribution to supporting female football talent pathways was recognised with the establishment of the annual Kirby Bentley Cup in 2014, which helps First Nations girls aged 13-15 transition into the WAFLW pathway. In 2025, she was named the AFLW Indigenous Round honouree.

A two-time AFLW All-Australian, McDonald played 76 games across the Geelong Cats and the Western Bulldogs, including six seasons as Geelong's captain.

Since her retirement at the end of the 2025 season, McDonald has joined 3AW Football as Executive Producer.

The AFLW All-Australian panel selects the All-Australian squad and final team, determines the Virgin Australia AFLW Mark of the Year and Coles AFLW Goal of the Year, and votes on the Telstra AFLW Rising Star.

AFL Executive General Manager of AFLW, Health and Football Operations Laura Kane welcomed Lee, Bentley and McDonald to the AFLW All-Australian selection panel.

"The AFLW All-Australian selection panel plays an important role in recognising the competition's best each season, and we're also pleased to bring in three people with the football experience and credentials of Debbie, Kirby and Meghan," Kane said.

"Each has made an outstanding contribution to women's football, and their perspectives will be a valuable addition to the selection process."

Australian Football Hall of Fame member Erin Phillips has departed the AFLW All-Australian selection panel due to her new role with the Gold Coast SUNS, alongside Jason Bennett and Megan Waters.

Former AFLW player Katie Anderson (nee Loynes) will also sit out the 2026 season on the AFLW All-Australian selection panel due to family commitments.

Kane thanked the outgoing panel members.

"On behalf of the AFL, I'd like to thank the outgoing panel members for the time, commitment and expertise they have brought to the role," Kane said.

"Their contribution has been important in recognising and celebrating the competition's best players."

The AFL has also confirmed the weekly Telstra AFLW Rising Star selection panel for the 2026 NAB AFLW Premiership Season.

Laura Kane, Gemma Bastiani, Lou Caluzzi, Kevin Sheehan and Michael Whiting will nominate a player each week for the 2026 Telstra AFLW Rising Star.

At the conclusion of the 2026 NAB AFLW Season, the AFLW All-Australian panel will vote on the five highest-performing nominees based on their performances across the year.

The 2026 NAB AFLW Season gets underway on Sunday, August 9, when St Kilda hosts Carlton in a historic AFL/AFLW double-header at Marvel Stadium for Spud's Game.

2026 AFLW All-Australian Panel

  • Andrew Dillon, AFL CEO
  • Laura Kane, Executive General Manager of AFLW, Health and Football Operations
  • Gemma Bastiani, AFLW expert and AFL.com.au
  • Kirby Bentley, former AFLW player
  • Debbie Lee, Australian Football Hall of Fame member
  • Kate McCarthy, Channel 7 and Triple M
  • Meghan McDonald, 3AW
  • Eliza Reilly, CODE Sports
  • Michael Whiting, AFL.com.au

2026 Telstra AFLW Rising Star Panel

  • Laura Kane, Executive General Manager of AFLW, Health and Football Operations
  • Gemma Bastiani, AFLW expert and AFL.com.au
  • Lou Caluzzi, AFLW Football Performance Manager
  • Kevin Sheehan, AFL Talent Ambassador
  • Michael Whiting, AFL.com.au

2026 Telstra AFLW Rising Star Eligibility

  • The player must be under 21 years of age as of January 1, 2026, and have played 10 or fewer games before Round 1 of the 2026 NAB AFLW Season.
  • Must not be a previous winner of the Telstra AFLW Rising Star award.
  • For each round during the 2026 NAB AFLW Season, the Telstra AFLW Rising Star panel will select one eligible player as the Telstra AFLW Rising Star nominee for that round.
  • When several players are judged to have played at a reasonably similar level, performances across the season are then taken into account.
  • The priority is to have the best-performed 12 players nominated by the end of the season for consideration for the overall award. Therefore, in later weeks, year-to-date performances will be allocated increasing weight relative to performances in the round.
  • The AFLW All-Australian panel will then select the Telstra AFLW Rising Star Award winner from the group of Rising Star nominees in accordance with the AFL Regulations.