A record 25 graduates from the NAB League Girls competition were selected in Tuesday’s 2019 NAB AFL Women’s Draft, including the Western Bulldogs’ number-one pick Gabrielle Newton.

The figure of 25 draftees continues an upward trend for Victoria’s premier under-18 girls competition, with 10 players from its inaugural 2017 season taken in that year’s AFLW Draft before a further 20 were selected in 2018.

This year, Northern Knights premiership captain Newton led a group of eight Victorian girls selected in the AFLW Draft’s first round of 18 picks. Newton became the state's third straight top selection following Geelong’s Nina Morrison (ex-Geelong Falcons) in 2018 and the Western Bulldogs’ Isabel Huntington (ex-Sandringham Dragons) in 2017.

Joining Newton as first-round picks in 2019 were:

• Geelong Falcons skipper Lucy McEvoy (pick no.2 to Carlton);
• Calder Cannons ball-winner Georgia Patrikios (no.5 to St Kilda);
• Northern Knights goalkicker Nell Morris-Dalton (no.6 to Western Bulldogs);
• GWV Rebels midfielder Sophie Molan (no.7 to Richmond);
• Oakleigh Chargers speedster Gemma Lagioia (no.8 to Western Bulldogs);
• Western Jets leader Elisabeth Georgostathis (no.9 to Western Bulldogs); and
• Murray Bushrangers defender Millie Brown (no.11 to Geelong).

The Northern Knights and Oakleigh Chargers both produced five draftees this year, followed by the Eastern Ranges, GWV Rebels and Western Jets with three each, the Calder Cannons and Geelong Falcons with two apiece and the Dandenong Stingrays and Murray Bushrangers each with one.

All seven top-age members of the 2019 NAB AFLW Under-18 All Australian Team from NAB League clubs are now on AFLW lists: Brown, McEvoy, Laura McClelland (Eastern Ranges to Richmond AFLW), Molan, Newton and Patrikios – as well as Molly McDonald (Dandenong Stingrays), who was pre-listed by St Kilda alongside NAB League teammate Isabella Shannon earlier this year.

In addition, 13 of the 17 top-age players selected in the 2019 NAB League Girls Team of the Year are now AFLW-listers, while 21 of the 25 draftees from the NAB League Girls went on to appear at senior level in the Swisse Wellness VFL Women’s this season.

Fifty total players were drafted after appearing in either the NAB League Girls or VFLW competitions in 2019, representing an even 50 per cent of the 100 overall picks in the AFLW Draft.

See the full list of players selected from Victorian state competitions in the 2019 AFLW Draft below.