ONE YEAR ON chats to the breakout draftees from the 2025 NAB AFLW season, ahead of their second year in the league.
After check-ins with Telstra AFLW Rising Star winner Zippy Fish and Carlton father-daughter favourite Sophie McKay, the 2024 No.1 draft pick Ash Centra brings us home.
No AFLW number one pick has burst onto the scene quite like Ash Centra.
Already blessed with a catchy name, there was hype building ahead of her round one debut for one of the biggest clubs in the land, Collingwood.
And then came The Bounce.
The Centra Bounce.
Spotted by a sharp camera operator, Centra – with her warm-up t-shirt over her long-sleeve guernsey, very Gen Z – was having a casual kick with her teammates pre-match ahead of the season-opener, and smoothly bounced the ball between her legs while jogging, basketball-style.
Forget about a niche Collingwood W moment, it became a cross-competition movement, taking social media by storm.
Men's and women's players around the country – from AFL/W to grassroots – spent the weekend desperately hurling the ball between their legs, falling over their feet trying to gather the footy.
Even former Brownlow medallist and current Hawthorn coach, Sam Mitchell, was giving it a go in the middle of the MCG.
The bounce just added to the Centra noise that had been building over pre-season.
We hadn't seen an AFLW player like her before.
Equally good up forward as she is through the midfield.
The prototype of the future AFLW superstar.
Smooth-moving, lethal kick, strong overhead, she can do it all.
Word filtered through about a mysterious hip injury. Would she play? Would the Pies risk her? Will she be on managed minutes? Restricted to the forward 50?
A quick glance at her stat line from the round one match doesn't show much – three disposals, one tackle and a goal in a 24-point loss.
In reality, Centra started on the bench, rotated on to rapturous applause, and kicked a goal with her first touch in the AFLW.
And then there was The Bounce.
"Oh my god. I'm obviously very grateful to get the recognition for it, but it was just something that happened in the moment, I wasn't really thinking about it to be honest," Centra told AFL.com.au.
"To go on my phone after the game and look at all the messages I got and what was being posted, it was just crazy to see. It just blew my mind that something like that could get the attention of the likes of AFL teams or even little kids.
"Having a basketball background definitely helped, definitely a basketball move when you think about it. To be honest, I hadn't been doing it for that long. Me and a teammate were practicing it pre-training, and it just came about.
"In round one it just came out and I didn't even think about it when I was doing it. 'Kindy' (Kalinda Howarth) is pretty skilful at lots of things, she'll try and take credit for it -the Kalinda Howarth bounce."
The basketball background – Centra played for Vic Country at an underage level – inevitably draws conclusions with another Collingwood champion, AFL games record-holder Scott Pendlebury.
The pair played for the same junior basketball club, Sale Sonics, and were even coached by the same person, Jo Crawford-Wynd.
Both wore the No.16 on debut, both scored a goal with their first kick, and even eerier, Centra was born a day before Pendlebury debuted.
"I was going to go to the (record-breaking) game but thought I'd go back and watch it in Sale, where he's from. A few of us watched it on a big screen at home.
"I was talking to mum, and we do have some things in common. We're both born and grown up in Sale, Gippsland, we went to the same school. He obviously had a basketball background as well, we were coached by the same basketball coach which is crazy to think about."
The label of No.1 draft pick carries its own responsibilities, but Centra said any pressure was self-inflicted. A hip injury limited her at the start of last season, making life a little tougher, and is an issue she continues to manage.
The Pies are anticipating Centra to play more midfield minutes as she works her way into the season this year.
"I did (feel the pressure), more so internal pressure. Every athlete, they definitely feel more pressure internally than externally, but I guess having [the fuss] on draft night as well, I got used to it, and was supported by the football club, they helped me all throughout last year," she said.
"The physios and all the high-performance staff are all aware of my hip, and they just take me out when they need to manage me appropriately. I'm really excited for this year, we've got 12 new recruits, and it's going to be challenging, but I'm really excited to play alongside all the new girls and the netballers.
"Playing a full season is definitely a goal for me coming into my second year, and also finding my voice a little bit more, being more of a leader to the younger girls and just really having fun because I know you play your best footy when you're enjoying yourself and having fun."
The introverted Centra joked that she barely spoke last year but is slowly starting to find her way – and her voice – at her club, sourcing confidence from no longer being the new kid on the block.
Despite her tender age of 20, she's also living alone in an apartment, enjoying having her own space and quiet to come home to after a day at the Pies.
"There's four first-years that have come along to our club this year, and I've definitely found a voice and it's definitely helped me come out of my shell more, being a second-year player," Centra said.
"They've come in with a lot of confidence, and I can't imagine me coming in last year with so much confidence and it just blows my mind, how much confidence they've come in with.
"I actually went home for a fair chunk of the off-season, which was nice, back in the countryside. But I'm really glad to be back in the city life, it keeps you busy. I'm living by myself at the moment. I get a bit lonely, but I do like my own space, so it's nice.
"I do love to cook, lots of girls give me crap for posting food photos on my Instagram stories, but it's something I love to do, and I'll keep doing it."
