East Fremantle premiership star Zippy Fish in contention for pick one in 2024 after lean WA draft

East Fremantle premiership star and Lou Knitter medallist Zippy Fish, Vic Country forward/mid Ash Centra and Queensland ruck/forward Havana Harris are the three most highly touted talents heading into 2024, with the trio set to jostle for the honour of being the first selected.

While it’s unclear what form the draft will take after a national pool was introduced this year, the early talk is that Fish is considering nominating nationally.

WAFC Female Talent Manager and Coaching Specialist Trent Cooper said that the midfielder is “definitely” in contention to be the first name read out this time next year.

“The general thought is that there’s three,” Cooper said. “Ash Centra is an unbelievably smooth mover with silky skills. She’s highly touted.

“Havana Harris is a strong, athletic, metres-gained player very much in the Brisbane mould.

“Everyone talks about Zippy Fish and what’s been pleasing is that her training standards have been elite. Her GPS numbers have been consistently in the top two or three in the metrics we’re looking for. We know she’s got the skillset and her work rate is backing that up.

“They’re the three that clubs are talking about so it’ll be interesting to see how the year unfolds.”

It’s shaping as a bumper draft crop for WA with South Fremantle’s Molly O’Hehir and Claremont’s Claudia Wright also included in the AFLW National Academy.

“Molly isn’t far behind her (Zippy) at all,” Cooper said. “She’s a raw talent. She’s just growing into her body but I think she’s going to be a really good athlete and footy player. She’s already an All-Australian but I think she can go to another level.

“Claudia had an interrupted year and we worked hard to get her up for the futures game which got her into the National Academy. She’s still been limited in her training but we think she can have a strong season.

“They’re the three standing out but there are others like Taya Chambers, Natasha Entwistle and Noa McNaughton. And every year, we hope for those players like Ella Slocombe or Reuben Ginbey who come from nowhere.”

Just four Western Australians were selected at this year’s AFLW draft, including mature age former Docker Matilda Sergeant. Kaitlyn Srhoj was the first sandgroper picked, heading to GWS at pick three. While Ella Slocombe (pick 26) and Georgie Cleaver (pick 39) also had their dreams realised, landing at North Melbourne and West Coast respectively.

Cooper admits he would’ve liked to have seen more local players given an opportunity.

“The three that we thought would go did go,” he said. “There were a few like (Mylee) Leitch and (Liliana) Grassenis that we thought clubs could look at to fill a particular need. (Anjelique) Raison was the one who I think was unlucky and could definitely force her way onto an AFLW list.

“To get Kaitlyn (Srhoj) at pick three was huge. Georgie (Cleaver) would’ve gone top 10 but obviously West Coast didn’t need to use a pick that high. Ella (Slocombe) slid to an unbelievable level. North Melbourne couldn’t believe they got her when they did and they think she can add a lot to their team straight away.

“Even though it was a national draft, the top 15 picks went all over place but then the bottom 40 picks, I think 75 per cent of them stayed in their home state. Clubs might still be a bit reluctant to pay the relocation fee for players who may be towards the bottom end of their draft lists.

“Some clubs also don’t have recruiting structures that were ready for a national draft which is not fault of their own, some of them being so new. But the engagement of some clubs with us was really good and other clubs, we were just giving information to them and we didn’t get any inquiries the other way.”

Cooper said that the lean draft haul wasn’t unexpected and that the WAFC has already started making changes to strengthen the female talent pathway moving forward, including conducting a full pre-season with state squad members before releasing them back to their clubs.

“We identified some of our shortcomings before the draft and they’re things we’ve already taken steps to improve,” Cooper said. “We’re not reacting to anything from the draft because nothing surprised us. We’ve been preemptive with what we’ve been doing.”

The WAFC has also already spoken to interstate clubs about what can be done to give WA talents the best chance of being drafted in the future.

More Coverage

Why Newton changed her mind about Fremantle AFLW move

Eliza Reilly

“The athleticism and running power is definitely one,” Cooper said. “I think the slowest 2km time trial of anyone drafted was 9:03. That’s a big change from where it used to be.

“Performances in the National Championships are also really important for our girls. Recruiters are obviously watching a lot of Coates League and there might not be as many eyes on our competitions but the National Championships is the only time the girls can be compared.

“We only won one game at the National Championships so I think if we perform better in the carnival, we’ll get a lot more eyes on girls beyond the carnival which can translate into bigger draft numbers.”