CALL IT the Tamara Luke effect.
Two retiring champions of the AFLW – Steph Chiocci (36 years old) and Stacey Livingstone (also 36) – have nominated for the upcoming Telstra AFLW Draft.
The pair's paperwork was lodged as "delisted" rather than "retired", allowing for the nomination.
It's understood both are happily retired, but are keeping their options open should a team need a top-up or injury replacement player next season.
Injury replacement and top-up players must have nominated for the draft, to give every club the opportunity to select them through that mechanism before they go into the replacement pool.
Richmond ruck Montana McKinnon ruptured her ACL in a pre-season match in August, with the Tigers approaching Luke, who had retired from Hawthorn the year prior. She ended up playing seven matches for the year.
Injury replacement players are signed for a full season. West Coast added four for 2024 – Sanne Bakker, Octavia Di Donato, Jayme Harken and Tess Lyons – after a series of ACL injuries and a pregnancy.
They can be added to the primary list the following season should a spot in the squad of 30 open up, with Bakker impressing so much she was given a two-year deal.
Top-up players are drawn from the collective pool of train-on players. Jordi Ivey started her season as a Geelong train-on player, even serving as a runner in a pre-season match, but played six games for Collingwood.
The Pies could only field Ivey if they had fewer than 24 available players, but such was their injury crisis, she played more games than nine primary-listed teammates.
Top-up players cannot be automatically retained the following year, and must nominate for the draft to get back on a list, with the 32-year-old Ivey having attracted some interest.
Former AFLW players who have thrown their hat back into the ring for Monday's draft include recently delisted Lauren Brazzale, Alana Gee and Verity Simmons, as well as Phoebe Monahan and Erin McKinnon, who were last on a list in 2023.
