Bright sparks and green shoots
The scoreboard hasn't been kind to Hawthorn's AFLW team through the opening three weeks of the season, but signs of progress are not hard to find.
After three games, 15 players have made their AFLW debut wearing the brown and gold stripes. While the results haven’t quite come our way, these players are getting some serious experience at the highest level that will stand the team in good stead as the season progresses.
There are a number of standouts from the debutants, but we are going to take you through our top three.
TAMARA SMITH #24
Tamara Smith is small, gritty and unmissable with her gold-and-brown beribboned braids. Shepparton-born Smith has shown herself to be a workhorse who just keeps going. Second only to captain Tilly Lucas-Rodd in total disposals after three matches, Smith has averaged 14 touches a game. She is also second only to Lucas-Rodd in the tackle count as well.
Despite this being her first season in the AFLW, Smith, 22, played 34 COVID-19 interrupted VFLW games, first for Richmond and then for Geelong. After being drafted to the Hawks from Geelong’s VFLW team, Smith was praised by the Geelong Head of AFLW, who said she “had set the standard for intensity at the contest”. That intensity has certainly been noticed by Hawks fans so far.
JASMINE FLEMING #5
Much has been made of Jasmine Fleming’s sporting pedigree – dad is former Australian bowler Damien Fleming, uncle Gary O’Donnell played 243 games for Essendon and aunt Shelley O’Donnell played 84 netball games in the green and gold.
In her first three AFLW matches, Hawks supporters have seen that Fleming may well be the next elite champion from her prestigious family.
She has proved her talent where it matters most: the contest. She has accumulated 23 contested possessions in her first three matches and has shown real flashes in getting the ball moving out of the pack and up the ground. Did we mention that she is only 17 years old and a Hawks supporter? It doesn’t get much better than that.
CHARLOTTE BASKARAN #14
Charlotte Baskaran was taken by the Hawks at pick nine in the AFLW draft and her quality has already shone through.
Still at school, Baskaran is fast and flashy. She kicked Hawthorn’s only goal against Richmond – her first goal at AFLW level – giving it a thump from the 50m arc at Punt Road oval halfway through the first quarter and watching it bounce through.
She is a strong tackler, notching five tackles against the experienced Tigers. With a running background and plenty of accolades at junior level, Baskaran has already shown her class.
Encouragement award
LUCY WALES #31
At the start of the season, Lucy Wales had been expecting to form part of a ruck team with the experienced Tamara Luke, a former St Kilda player.
But when Luke went down in round two with a season-ending knee injury, Wales suddenly found herself flying solo. Wales, 19, is a basketballer with plenty of spring in her step.
The week Luke went down, coach Bec Goddard named Wales as her player of the week, noting “it was exciting to see her step up to the standard we expect at AFLW.”
She backed that up in round three, contesting every centre bounce and finishing the game with 20 hit-outs, the same number as her Tigers opponent.
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Tamara Smith has really stood out for me too. Just a ferocious little competitor. Fleming will be a star. So classy but with a bit of toughness. It will take a while but there’s plenty of young talent there.