ARE WE about to see an AFLW 'Super Draft'?

Halfway through the under-18 girls Marsh National Championships, it's evident the standard of play has never been higher.

The draft-eligible players this year were born in 2006, and were 11 years old when the NAB AFLW competition first began, with participation rates in junior girls footy soaring over the years that followed.

While Western Australia is yet to take to the field - with all its games scheduled in the back half of the series - Vic Metro has been the pace-setter, with the powerful South Australia stamping its authority over the Allies in its sole game so far.

But the Allies scored an upset victory over Queensland, while Vic Country has been competitive in its two losses.

Last weekend's match between Vic Metro and Vic Country – under the roof at Marvel Stadium – was notable for its high scoring, with 24 goals kicked between the two teams.

For comparison's sake, the 2018 edition between the two sides had just six goals scored cumulatively, at GMHBA Stadium.

The players named in the best in that game? Maddy Prespakis, Katie Lynch, Daisy Bateman, Eleanor Brown, Laura McClelland, Nina Morrison, Lucy McEvoy, Rene Caris, Tyla Hanks, Sophie Van De Heuvel and Jordy Allen.

Also on the field were current AFLW players Georgia Patrikios, Mikala Cann, Maddy Brancatisano, Issy Grant, Abbie McKay, Gab Newton, Charlotte Wilson, Lauren Szigeti, Shelley Heath, Kodi Jacques, Liv Purcell, Lauren Butler, Molly McDonald, Becky Webster, Georgia Clarke and Courtney Jones.

Those players are now stars of our game, McEvoy captaining Sydney, and Morrison and Hanks vice-captains of Geelong and Melbourne respectively.

It bodes well for the future.

"The quality of the game, the standard of the skills, all of that sort of stuff, is one thing, but clearly, the opportunity to play on Marvel Stadium, we don't take it for granted," AFL national academy manager Tarkyn Lockyer said.

"Having sort of pristine conditions where you can showcase talent like that's that was such a great day of footy for both the boys and the girls. It was unbelievable. It'd be really nice to be able to do that a little bit more often."

Lockyer has seen first-hand the improvement in both skill and game awareness among the under-18 cohort this year, with the players now entering the talent pathways with years of footy – with more experienced coaches at local level – under their belt.

Contested marking is clearly an area of improvement over the past five years at under-18 level, as is the ability and awareness to look laterally and find a teammate running in open space.

"I think the thing that probably stands out at the moment is probably – and the SA girls and Vic Metro did it particularly well – is the standard of kicking," he said.

"It's amazing how quickly the ball is now transitioning from, say, the back 50 to the front 50, and then they're scoring. The ball's actually moving up and down the ground so quickly.

"You can see that anytime someone's now in time and space – the skill efficiency of the players is unbelievable.

"The Metro-Allies game, the first game up in Sydney, that first quarter from the Metro girls, just their ability to win it out of a contest and then, handball, handball, and they're out in space, and then deliver – I'm sure the forwards are pretty happy. The way the ball was coming in was incredible. It's pretty cool to watch."

Elite level junior coaches around the country now speak about the fact there is now less need for a heavy focus on skills, as players enter their representative teams with more local footy under their belt than in the past.

It means they can add layers to game-plans, enabling players to spread the field and find space for quick attacks.

A growing number of players are now also much more natural snaps at goal, having had the luxury of practicing the tricky skill from a young age, opening up another opportunity to score.

AFLW clubs are very hopeful about the depth of talent in this year's draft, which will be a fully national pool for the first time. Expansion club concessions, which have diluted the talent on offer, are now a thing of the past.

"They've been loving (the championships), absolutely loving it," Lockyer said.

"Clearly, with the announcement around a national draft this year, there's clearly a lot of interest in a wider range of players.

"Certainly the feeling that I get in my chats to the recruiters are they're pretty comfortable with where the talent sits around the country, which is so exciting for us going forward."