By Simone Wearne
AFLW season 9 begins this week, but you’ll be forgiven if you didn’t know that until now. With one of the most captivating AFL seasons in league history, the top eight make-up literally down to the wire with a Sunday night thriller between Port Adelaide and Fremantle, the lead up to the upcoming AFLW season has had to take a backseat. However, that all changes this Friday night when the Pies take on the Swans in game one at North Sydney Oval.
For those of you who weren’t following along last season, ‘The Numbers Don’t Lie’ looked at some of the best players in the business, crunching the numbers to provide more insight into who in fact was the most important, the most efficient and the most valuable to their team.
To kick things off in our first edition for season 9, we’re talking all things 'captains'. A lot has changed since the end of season 8, and a number of key changes to captaincy seem to have been kept quite low-key. Notably, long-time Bulldogs superstar and league heavyweight Ellie Blackburn, the Bulldogs captain since 2019, has been replaced by Deanna Berry. And Emily Bates has taken the reigns from Tilly Lucas-Rodd at the Hawks.
Key Movements
Emily Bates has replaced inaugural Hawks leader Tilly Lucas-Rodd as Hawthorn captain for season 9. Bates moved from Brisbane to Hawthorn at the start of the 2023 season, making an instant impact on a young side that was still new to the competition.
Emily Bates will captain Hawthorn for the first time in season 9. Photo courtesy AFLW.
A Premiership player with the Lions, and AFLW Best & Fairest winner, Bates stormed into the Hawks line-up in 2023, impacting the team in a number of key categories.
She also impressed with more growth in her already high average of AFLW fantasy points per game. Bates amassed her highest career average in fantasy points per game, 93.2, leading the Hawks with a total of 932 ahead of outgoing captain Tilly Lucas-Rodd (841) and AFLW stalwart Kaitlyn Ashmore (660).
She currently sits in fifth place all-time for fantasy points scored in the AFLW with a total of 5,679.
Emily Bates averaged 93.2 AFLW fantasy points per game in 2023, the highest average in her career thus far. Stats courtesy of AFLWstats.com
The only four players in front of her when it comes to total fantasy points amassed are some of the best in the business, including former Brisbane teammate Ally Anderson. Bates and Anderson won back-to-back AFLW Best and Fairest awards in Season 6 (Bates) and Season 7 (Anderson) respectively, before Bates made the move to the Hawks for the 2023 season.
All-time total AFLW fantasy points leaders across all 8 seasons. Stats courtesy AFLWstats.com
In other key movements, the most well-known Bulldog of all Ellie Blackburn will not be captaining the team in 2024. Famously leading the Bulldogs to a Premiership in 2018 as skipper when then captain Katie Brennan was injured, Blackburn never looked back, leading from the front as the captain out west since 2020. Deanna Berry becomes just the third Bulldogs AFLW captain in the club’s short history as she prepares to help rebuild a program that has struggled to achieve over recent years. Blackburn still remains as part of the leadership group.
2024 Western Bulldogs AFLW Leaders. Photo courtesy Western Bulldogs AFLW.
Berry and Blackburn both made their debuts with the Bulldogs way back in 2017, each of them playing pivotal roles during their time at the club. An unfortunate ACL injury in 2021 meant Berry missed some football, but her contribution around the club has not gone unnoticed.
Ellie Blackburn has led the way when comparing the numbers between her and Deanna Berry since they debuted in 2017. Stats courtesy AFLWstats.com
Both midfielders, Blackburn has led the way statistically, and not just at the Bulldogs. She is top 10 all-time in the AFLW for key statistics including total disposals (1,356), clearances (277) and inside 50s (305), and sits 11th on the all-time leader board for contested positions (618).
Berry in the new captaincy role will certainly be one to watch. A well-respected player in the league, will her new role bring out the best for season 9? And how will Blackburn respond in a year where the Bulldogs have made many a change in a bid to push themselves back up the ladder for a tilt at another Premiership.
Captains to watch
Whilst the impact of new captains at the Hawks and Bulldogs will be a great watch, there are some other captains looking to propel their teams in 2024.
Bri Davey - Collingwood
Collingwood captain Bri Davey will be not only looking to recapture her AFLW Best and Fairest form from 2021 (season 5), but she will be looking to deliver some more wins for a club that expects nothing less. The Pies missed the finals altogether last season, a disappointing ending after finishing 7th in 2022.
Bri Davey showed glimpses of recapturing her stellar 2021 form last year upon return from injury, but can she push beyond and have her best season yet in 2024? Stats courtesy AFLWstats.com
Davey was back on the park for season 8 after an ACL rupture in round 1 of season 6 left her sidelined for that season, in addition to all of season 7 given the timing of the second season beginning mid-year in 2022. It was a huge loss for the Pies, and horrible timing for Davey who had the season of her career so far in 2021.
Davey was awarded co-AFLW Best and Fairest winner with Kiara Bowers (Fremantle Dockers), named All-Australian captain, and took out Collingwood’s Best and Fairest trophy. Collingwood finished third that season, defeated by eventual Premiers the Brisbane Lions by just 4 points in a Preliminary final. Though she showed glimpses of her 2021 best last season, can she get herself and her Pies back to the top and take them to their first ever Grand Final?
Emma Swanson - West Coast
Travelling way out West, the Eagles have named inaugural captain Emma Swanson in the position for a sixth straight season. The most decorated AFLW player from West Coast, Swanson is a two-time All-Australian squad member, two-time Eagles Best and Fairest champion, and was the runner-up in her first year as captain back in 2020.
The Eagles leadership group for 2024 (from left): Matilda Sergeant, Bella Lewis (VC), Emma Swanson (C), Charlie Thomas (VC), Jess Hosking. Photo courtesy West Coast Eagles AFLW.
Whilst many on the opposite side of the country might be unfamiliar with her, Swanson has spent years quietly stating her case as one of the best midfielders in the league. Starting her career with the Greater Western Sydney Giants back in 2017, Swanson returned to the West in 2020 when West Coast first entered the AFLW competition and has since propelled herself to match it with the best – particularly when it comes to the numbers.
She might not be the well-known figure that Bri Davey is over East, but when you break down the careers so far of the two mid-fielders, there is a striking resemblance.
Comparing the per game averages so far for Emma Swanson (West Coast) and Bri Davey (Collingwood). Stats courtesy AFLWstats.com
Swanson’s last two seasons with the Eagles have been particularly impressive. She played all ten games in season 7 and 8, and has led both seasons in key statistical areas for her team. And though she began her career with the Giants, as an inaugural member of the Eagles team, she leads almost every key statistical category all-time.
Emma Swanson leads the Eagles AFLW team all-time when it comes to most key statistics. Stats courtesy AFLWstats.com
With the anticipated debut of new West Coast coach Daisy Pearce almost upon us, the competition should be on notice. With a coach who talks openly about looking to get the best out of her players, Swanson could well take her game to another level this season which is a scary proposition.
When the ninth season kicks off this Friday night with two games; Sydney v Collingwood (Sydney) and West Coast v Richmond (Perth), our eyes will be well and truly focused on the captains – both those in new roles, and those who have been replaced. Will the changes across the league boost individual and team performance, what will the numbers tell us? We can’t wait to find out!
Comments