Murray Bushrangers Female Talent Coordinator Briana Cossar gives her thoughts on the club's upcoming U18 girls season.
2018 FINISH: 7th (3-5-1 record)
2018 BEST AND FAIREST: Tamara Smith
2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR SELECTIONS: Rebecca Webster
2018 AFL WOMEN'S DRAFTEES: Rebecca Webster (Geelong)
OTHER FORMER PLAYERS ON AFLW LISTS:
- Selected in 2017: Iilish Ross (Collingwood)
2019 AFLW ACADEMY:
- Level 2 (18yo): Millie Brown
- Level 1 (17yo): Olivia Barber
2019 HEAD COACH: Tim Madden (first season)
2019 SEASON START: vs Northern Knights @ RAMS Arena, Saturday March 2
TOP 2019 AFLW DRAFT PROSPECT
Millie Brown (local club – Mooroopna): "Millie ticks all the boxes. She has great awareness, her decision-making is second to none, her foot skills on both sides of the body are fantastic, she always has clean hands and she brings other players into the game. We'll probably play her in the midfield and she might spend time forward and across half back. She's extremely versatile."
POTENTIAL DRAFT SURPRISE PACKETS
Tali Verhoeven (Shepparton Notre): "Tali only played a handful of games last year. She'll also play in the ruck and in the forward line. She's extremely versatile, a beautiful kick of the football and very agile and she reads the play extremely well."
Sophie Locke (Seymour): "Sophie evades tackles like (Collingwood AFL captain) Scott Pendlebury. She also has a great set of hands and is a good kick of the football. She'll probably play off a half-forward flank and on a wing because she's quite quick."
Teagan Brett (Shepparton Notre): "Teagan has been a great addition to the squad this year. She's an elite kick and user of the football. She has exceptional hands and the work she's put into her fitness has been second to none".
17YO PLAYERS TO WATCH
Olivia Barber (Lavington Panthers): "We're hoping to see a lot more of Olivia this year; we'll try to work in with her basketball commitments. She only first played football last year and is improving each week. She's quite tall and extremely quick over 20 metres – once she gets going, she'll run you down."
Abby Favell (Griffith Swans): "Abby is a fantastic athlete who possesses both speed and endurance. She tackles really well, she kicks on both sides of her body quite well and her awareness and decision-making is really good. We'll probably play her on a wing."
LEADERSHIP MATERIAL
"Millie Brown (see above) has been named our captain, with Mikaela Trethowan (19yo in 2019, Thurgoona Bulldogs) and Sophie Locke (see above) as vice-captains and Kate Adams (17yo, Shepparton United), Abby Favell (see above) and Meg Todhunter (17yo, Wodonga Raiders) also in the leadership group.
"Millie is just a natural leader and she's a great person to have around the club. She sets the training standard quite high and the younger girls follow suit."
FAMOUS FOOTBALL RELATIONS
Millie Brown (see above): Daughter of former AFL player Paul Brown – 84 games for Geelong.
Emily Nicholson (17yo, Murray Felines): Daughter of former AFL player Brad Nicholson – 34 games for Western Bulldogs.
TEAM STRENGTHS
"We want to be known as the team that puts everything on the line. We'll bring intensity for four quarters every week and I know the girls are extremely committed and dedicated, because they and their parents travel long distances just to train. We're also aiming to be quick because we're not overly tall as a group."
