THE UPCOMING 2026 Telstra AFLW Draft is set to be heavily dominated by the northern academies.

Of the 43 players invited to the Telstra National Combine, 16 originate from the academies of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney and Sydney, while potential Carlton father-daughter Sophia Green also attended.

Green's father, Peter, played just one game for the Blues in 1994, and went disposal-less. Discussions around changes to the father-daughter eligibility for future years (currently just one match) are ongoing.

There is no certainty that the five clubs will nominate all their eligible players ahead of the draft – Sydney academy prospect Kiera Yerbury was picked up (coincidentally) by GWS last year – but it would be surprising if the vast majority don't end up at their "home" club.

NORTHERN ACADEMY MEMBERS INVITED TO THE NATIONAL COMBINE

Brisbane: Molly Ferguson, Mia Geere, Ella Gibson, Harlee McIlwain, Zoe Petrides, Aiyana Pritchard
Gold Coast: Steph Auinaldo, Summer Browning
Greater Western Sydney: Zoe Curry, Majella Day, Morgan Stevens
Sydney: Ash Barlow, Evie Bowie, Aurelia Russell, Charlotte Tidemann, Frankie Walsh (national academy and Swans academy member Grace Tracey is recovering from a torn ACL, and as such was invited to the state combine) 

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The saturation of northern academy players this year has been exacerbated by a coincidentally shallower year in all of the Victorian, South Australian and West Australian pools, although the top end is still quite strong.

Gold Coast's dramatic rise up the ladder this year is in part due to 2025's extraordinary haul of academy players.

While that draft was dominated by the Suns, the actual combine itself wasn't as heavily saturated with northern academy players. Ten of the 46 invitees were academy-tied, seven of which were Suns players.

L-R: Georja Davies, Alannah Welsh, Ava Usher, Sunny Lappin and Dekota Baron pose for a photo during the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft on December 15, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Going back to the 2024 pool, 10/47 national combine attendees were either from the northern academies or a father-daughter connection (Sophie McKay).

Looking forward, 8/23 members of the U16 All Australian side of 2025 (2027-draft eligible) are tied to northern academies, with Tasmania and Next Generation Academies (multicultural and Indigenous heritage) also going to affect how that draft plays out.

Currently, clubs only need to match bids with a selection within 18 picks of that bid, but as reported by AFL.com.au, that process is likely to be tightened for the 2027 draft.

Any bids made on first-round players from 2027 onwards is set to be matched with a selection within 10 picks, while bids on players in the second round onwards would be matched with a selection within 20 picks.