MOLLY O'Hehir is the West Australian draft prospect who has clubs scrambling at the pointy end of the draft.

O'Hehir is one of the most talented players in this year's pool. Her aerial work is exceptional, her run and carry can break games open, and she is a tackling machine.

With the ability to dominate in defence or through the midfield, O'Hehir is gaining momentum as a possible top three selection at Monday night's Telstra AFLW Draft.

The South Fremantle product began her footballing journey as a nine-year-old and immediately fell in love with the physicality of the sport.

Having grown up playing netball - where she was often called for contact - O'Hehir thrived with the physical nature of Aussie Rules.

"I just really loved the tackling … I'm quite a physical person when I play sports. I think that kind of drew me to it," she told AFL.com.au.

"I love the competitiveness and physical side. I love laying a good tackle and I think it just really gets the whole team up and about."

At the beginning of the season, O'Hehir set the goal to improve on her leadership.

"A big focus has been my leadership. I just wanted to try and be a leader, even if I didn't get in a role, I still wanted to be a leader for my team at any level, whether that be WAFL, state or even national Academy," she said.

Her leadership came on in leaps and bounds in 2024, the pinnacle being named skipper of the AFLW Academy in June.

"Being named the captain was really unexpected. I didn't really expect it to come to me, to be honest. I was just really grateful for that opportunity, because I've never really had a leadership role like that in my past," she said.

"Coming in with that leadership goal, that kind of shows that had paid off a little bit, my hard work in trying to be a leader. I really, really enjoyed that."

O'Hehir, who idolises Fremantle's Ebony Antonio and is close friends with West Coast's Georgie Cleaver, finished school in 2023 and has begun a degree in primary school teaching.

"I'm really loving it, I've always had a passion working with kids and I have a part-time job as a nanny," she said.

That also meant she could jet off to Europe with her mum in the back half of the season after the National Championships finished.

"I think it was a well-needed break after such a big year. I did a few runs over there, but I also just tried to have a bit of a break too, because my body needed it."

Since then, O'Hehir has been working hard to give herself the biggest chance to perform right away at an AFLW club.

"I think it's really exciting to see how far women's footy has come from the start to now. Here we are, with a national draft. We're just so lucky to be coming through the ranks at this time. I'm really excited for it," she said.

Moving interstate from Western Australia is a very real possibility for O'Hehir, but there's no doubt she is ready to grasp any opportunity that comes her way.

The 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft will be held on Monday, December 16.