Western Jets Female Talent Coordinator Claudia Davey gives her thoughts on the club's upcoming U18 girls season.
2018 FINISH: 11th (1-8 record)
2018 BEST AND FAIREST: Elisabeth Georgostathis
2019 AFLW ACADEMY:
Level 2 (18yo): Isabella Grant, Cleo Saxon-Jones
Level 1 (17yo): Isabelle Pritchard
2019 HEAD COACH: Zac Read (first season)
2019 SEASON START: vs Calder Cannons @ RAMS Arena, Saturday March 2
TOP 2019 AFLW DRAFT PROSPECTS
Isabella Grant (local club – Spotswood): "Isabella is a midfielder who has great football knowledge. She's a really down-to-earth, humble and genuine person and I think that's what has got her so far in her footy. She definitely works hard too though and she's very coachable."
Cleo Saxon-Jones (Wyndhamvale): "Cleo is a full forward/half forward who has excellent skills. She's also very coachable and has great character. She has really good football knowledge and always puts in a lot of extra work outside of training to improve."
POTENTIAL DRAFT SURPRISE PACKET
Elisabeth Georgostathis (VU Western Spurs): "Elisabeth is often overlooked because she's a little bit quiet, but she's very confident in her ability when she's on the ground. She always trains like she plays and leads by example. She's a midfielder who's tough and extremely fit."
17YO PLAYER TO WATCH
Isabelle Pritchard (Spotswood): "Isabelle is up there with our top five players. She was the captain of the U16 Vic Metro team last year and she's a good character who leads well. Her knowledge and football skills are excellent and she's also very fit. She plays as a full back and half back."
LEADERSHIP MATERIAL
"Our leadership group is Isabella Grant (see above), Cleo Saxon-Jones (see above), Isabelle Pritchard (see above), Elisabeth Georgostathis (see above) and Taylah Kolevski (18yo, Caroline Springs). Taylah hasn't been playing for all that long but she's improved enormously in the time she's been at the Jets. She has a great work ethic and is a great leader inside and outside of football."
FAMOUS FOOTBALL RELATIONS
Isabella Grant (see above): Daughter of former AFL player Chris Grant – 341 games for Western Bulldogs.
TEAM STRENGTHS
"Our focus for much of the pre-season was on contested footy, with the girls priding themselves on being hard-nosed and competitive around the ball. They'll look to move the ball quickly from defence to attack with a number of new players injecting some outside speed." – Head Coach Zac Read
