GOLD Coast best and fairest Charlie Rowbottom has turned down an approach from Sydney, a move which would have reunited her with brother, AFL Swans midfielder James.

The former No.1 pick was named in the All-Australian squad for season seven, her second at the top level.

Womens.afl understands a general enquiry was made by the Swans as to whether Rowbottom would be interested in making the move south, but the response was that the bullocking midfielder is very happy at the Suns.

The Rowbottoms – the nephew and niece of Brian Taylor – hail from Melbourne, but Charlie sensationally nominated the Queensland draft pool, keen to live by the beach.

Sydney is firmly pursuing Collingwood star Chloe Molloy, who worked with coach Scott Gowans at the Pies and former VWFL club Diamond Creek, but a sticking point – if Molloy opts to make the move – is what would be a suitable trade.

The upcoming draft will be for mature-age players only (after the eligible 18-year-olds were selected last year ahead of the one-off second season), and there's no guarantee clubs will have to take their traditional three selections, or even participate at all.

After the last round of expansion – adding four teams to the mix – coupled with the loss of nearly two years of football in Victoria over lockdowns, there is concern from clubs about the depth of talent on offer.

It makes trading for senior players like Molloy incredibly difficult, which is where the ability to trade future picks (not yet introduced to the AFLW player movement landscape) could hypothetically help.

An example could see Sydney trading away its future first-rounder for Molloy, which would see Collingwood hold the Swans selection (likely to be in the top five, dependant on finishing position) for the following draft, which will once again include the top-line 18-year-old talent.

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Some list managers have been pushing for future pick trading over the past few years, believing it'll lead to greater flexibility in deals. One barrier (which has since been lifted) was the constant waves of expansion, meaning varied drafts year-on-year as well as drafts dominated by new clubs.

The Swans are keen to bolster their top-end talent after a winless inaugural season.

At the conclusion of round 10 last year, Gowans told womens.afl the club "just couldn't land the big fish in the timeframe".

"As (CEO) Tom Harley says to me all the time, if we'd landed the big fish, would it have made much difference in the way you approached the season? Probably not," Gowans said.

"It's good now we have some processes and things around the place. We've got some stats (so) we know what we do well – and a lot of it we need to improve – but we know where we are. So we can land a big fish (for next season), and we don't have to just land the best player, we can be a little bit more strategic with it."

In their initial list build, the Swans went hard after a number of star players, including Ellie Blackburn, but were unable to score that crucial first signature, which the club believes will help entice further talent.