AFLW: Leading goalkicker Jesse Wardlaw could be on move from Brisbane Lions
Jesse Wardlaw exploded onto the scene for the Brisbane Lions this season. The tall forward is in demand, begging the question as to whether the club can hold onto her, writes DANIEL CHERNY.
Brisbane Lions spearhead Jesse Wardlaw, who broke the single-season AFLW goals record last month, is considered gettable by rival clubs this off-season.
Wardlaw, 22, had a breakout campaign in the expedited AFLW season seven, winning the league’s goalkicking prize with 19 majors in the home and away season before breaking Ash Woodland’s record with 22 goals overall for the season.
The 185-centimetre Wardlaw was named All-Australian for the first time but was held goalless in the Lions’ grand final defeat to Melbourne.
That hasn’t stopped opposition clubs from circling however. There is a prevailing sense from list management officials around the league that Wardlaw could be on the move.
She attracted interest from North Melbourne last off-season before recommitting to the Lions, who did an exceptional job at retaining their core talent, which includes league best and fairest winners Ally Anderson and Emily Bates, star defender Natalie Grider and dynamic Irishwoman Orla O’Dwyer.
But with the league having increased to 18 teams, and particularly with several expansion sides missing out on prime targets earlier this year, it is unclear whether the Lions will again be able to keep the wolves at bay.
Wardlaw’s agent Carlie Green Medina confirmed there had been approaches about Wardlaw.
“She’s had a great season cemented herself as a rising powerhouse of the AFLW which would naturally draw the attention of other clubs,” Green Medina said.
Born in New Zealand, Wardlaw excelled in several sports growing up before coming through the Queensland football pathway and becoming a part of the Lions academy.
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For now, player movement in AFLW is something of a moot point, with the AFL yet to release list rules or dates for a sign and trade period ahead of season eight, due to begin next August.
Because of the fast-tracked season seven, clubs are expecting that there will be no under-age national draft ahead of next season, with a stopgap over-age player mini-draft to instead be held as a mechanism to bring the calendar back into sync.
Player payments and list sizes hinge on the fruits of the collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the AFL and AFL players’ association, which are ongoing.
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