2025 AFLW Squad Preview: Part 3

Geelong

2024 finish: 10th – 2025 prediction: 4th

📈 2024 Recap & 2025 Outlook

Geelong overcame early injury woes but failed to make finals.  If Irish key forward Aishling Moloney and young superstar Georgie Prespakis can have a consistent season, I think Geelong will be a top 4 side!

🏆 Fantasy Studs

Aishling Moloney exploded onto the scene in 2024, ending the season with a record‑breaking 21 goals to share the AFLW leading goalkicker award alongside Taylor Smith. Her best performance was a stunning six‑goal haul against West Coast, where she also racked up 18 disposals and seven marks to break the Geelong club record in a single match. Her dynamic forward craft earned her selection at centre half‑forward in the All‑Australian team in just her second season. Now signed through to 2027, she remains central to Geelong’s attack and is a fantasy must‑have forward given her goal scoring consistency, forward half pressure and aerial threat.

Nina Morrison capped off her 2024 season with her first Geelong Cats Best and Fairest award after playing all 11 matches with consistency and leadership. She averaged 20.8 disposals, 7.1 tackles and 3.9 clearances per game, while also registering five goals across the season. Morrison stepped up when Amy McDonald was absent, matching key output in disposals and clearances and maintaining elite levels across the board. Now entering 2025 as a firmly established midfielder and vice-captain, her growth trajectory points to continued fantasy relevance through volume, pressure and midfield control.

💎 Breakout Watch

Georgie Prespakis had a slower 2024 campaign by her high standards, managing just nine games due to injury. Still, she averaged over 20 disposals, nearly six clearances and continued to show glimpses of her explosive midfield talent. Despite the setback, she remained a key figure in Geelong’s system and captained the AFLW 22 Under 22 side. Now fully fit and coming off a standout pre-season, Prespakis is ready to explode into the elite fantasy category in 2025. With elite footy IQ, contested strength and growing leadership, she shapes as a breakout premium who could anchor your midfield all year.

🔄 New Faces, Draftees and Departures (As per AFLW website)

Ins: Caitie Tipping (rookie, volleyball), Piper Dunlop, Alexis Gregor, Sienna Tallariti, Erica Fowler (replacement player, Collingwood), Emma Kilpatrick (replacement player, West Adelaide SANFLW)

Outs: Darcy Moloney (Sydney), Olivia Fuller, Abbey McDonald, Lilly Pearce, Brooke Plummer (delisted), Anna-Rose Kennedy (inactive, personal), Chantel Emonson (inactive, pregnant)

🗓️ Fixture Analysis

First 3 games: North Melbourne (Home), Adelaide (Away), Sydney (Home)

Teams not played: Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, Gold Coast, St Kilda

💭 Final Thoughts

I suspect Prespakis will be a name on everyone’s lips by round 3. Don’t miss out on her early scores while the rest of the competition catches up!

Gold Coast

2024 finish: 17th – 2025 prediction: 12th

📈 2024 Recap & 2025 Outlook

Gold Coast struggled to turn good pressure and individual performances into wins in 2024. With the development of some of their junior players, I predict they will convert some games into wins but not enough to make finals.

🏆 Fantasy Studs

Charlie Rowbottom quietly carried Gold Coast’s midfield in 2024, despite the Suns’ shocking fall to 17th on the ladder with just one win and one draw.  She still led the AFLW in clearances (84) and contested possessions (17.7 per game), solidifying her reputation as an inside powerhouse. Rowbottom rounded out the season as Gold Coast’s Club Champion for the second time in three years and earned back‑to‑back All‑Australian selection. Fully fit and fresh off a strong pre‑season, she looks poised to explode into the elite fantasy category in 2025. With proven high-volume output and contested strength she is absolutely a premium midfielder target.

Lucy Single took her game to another level in 2024, averaging a career‑high 20.6 disposals per match and taking 61 tackles across eight games while often playing key shutdown midfield roles for Gold Coast. Renowned for her exceptional speed and elite strength, she has consistently matched it with the competition’s best midfielders and delivered under pressure. Now appointed Gold Coast’s first academy graduate captain in 2025, her leadership sets a rising platform. Coming off a strong pre‑season, Single looks poised to break into the elite fantasy midfield tier. Her mix of volume, run and tackling punch makes her a value pick with significant upside in 2025.

Claudia Whitfort returns in 2025 after an interrupted 2024 season due to concussion, during which she featured in just eight Suns matches. When available, she averaged 20.6 disposals, six tackles and 5.4 clearances per game, anchoring Gold Coast’s midfield with consistent impact. A former Club Champion and Best and Fairest runner‑up, Whitfort’s ability to extract clearances and then deliver inside 50 transitions made her indispensable in 2023 and early 2024. Fully fit and reintegrated into Suns systems, she is primed to reclaim fantasy form.

💎 Breakout Watch

Tayla Gregory impressed in the QAFLW in 2024 as a dominant ruck-forward with Southport, capturing state league premiership in a breakout season. At 183 cm she played as an athletic marking target and consistently earned first hands at stoppages. Elevated into the AFLW system as a mature‑age signing, Gregory brings rare versatility for her height and role. Early 2025 reports and state league performances suggest she is fit, confident and ready to press for senior minutes. Her dual-role output offers intriguing fantasy appeal as a high-ceiling emerging forward‑ruck hybrid.

🔄 New Faces, Draftees and Departures (As per AFLW website)

Ins: Lily Mithen (Melbourne), Tara Harrington, Havana Harris, Nyalli Milne, Mia Salisbury, Heidi Talbot (draft), Ellie Veerhuis (replacement player, Swans Academy)

Outs: Tara Bohanna (Carlton), Ashanti Bush, Alana Gee, Jordan Membrey, Lauren McConville, Cara McCrossan, Vivien Saad (delisted), Daisy D'Arcy (inactive, ACL)

🗓️ Fixture Analysis

First 3 games: West Coast (Away), Sydney (Home), Port Adelaide (Away)

Teams not played: Essendon, Fremantle, Geelong, North Melbourne, St Kilda

💭 Final Thoughts

Rowbottom is the only lock from Gold Coast I can see. There will be others around her but its unlikely they will be GameDay Squad relevant.

GWS Giants

2024 finish: 16th – 2025 prediction: 15th

📈 2024 Recap & 2025 Outlook

GWS had a 2024 to forget and are now in what looks like they are in a rebuild phase. Don’t expect much in terms of performance but that shouldn’t exclude their players from your GDS side.

🏆 Fantasy Studs

Zarlie Goldsworthy has shifted from the midfield into the forward line in Gameday Squad for 2025, which significantly boosts her fantasy value. Reports indicate she will spend more time closer to goal this season, which may lower her disposal and clearance numbers slightly. However, her scoring power and forward pressure remain elite. Goldsworthy kicked 13 goals in 2024 and averaged nearly seven tackles per game, proving she can influence matches without high midfield minutes. As a forward-eligible player with a proven ceiling and explosive impact, she is still a must-have in any serious fantasy lineup.

Alyce Parker finished the 2024 season as one of the AFLW’s most consistent midfield machines. She averaged a career-high 24.6 disposals, 5.8 clearances, and 5.7 tackles per game across eleven matches. A four-time Giants club champion, and runner-up in 2024’s Gabrielle Trainor Medal race, she ranks inside the league’s top ten for both metres gained and contested ball work. Her GameDay Squad scores rarely fell below 110, matching her elite statistical output. Fully fit and fresh from a solid pre‑season, Parker remains a viable midfield option for your squad with her elite volume, contested strength and consistency.

💎 Breakout Watch

Eleanor Brown arrives at Greater Western Sydney from Western Bulldogs as a versatile defender with elite running and work rate. After missing all of 2023’s AFLW season and still yet to regain full fitness during 2024 she arrives fresh and motivated in 2025 A former top‑10 draft pick and Rising Star nomination, she offers strong intercept marking and agility across defense. The Giants expect her to bring composure and polish into a developing young backline.

🔄 New Faces, Draftees and Departures (As per AFLW website)

Ins: Grace Kos (Ireland), Eleanor Brown (Western Bulldogs), Taylah Levy (Adelaide), Sara Howley, Grace Martin (draft), Vivien Saad (injury replacement, Gold Coast), Sophie Kavanagh (injury replacement, North Melbourne), Caitlin Fletcher (injury replacement, North Melbourne VFLW)

Outs: Annise Bradfield, Pepa Randall (retired), Nicola Barr (St Kilda), Courtney Murphy (Essendon), Jasmine Grierson, Caitlin Miller, Jemma Ramsdale (delisted), Meghan Gaffney (inactive, ACL), Haneen Zreika (inactive, pregnancy)

🗓️ Fixture Analysis

First 3 games: Essendon (Home), Collingwood (Away), Adelaide (Home)

Teams not played: Brisbane, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond

💭 Final Thoughts

Zarlie Goldsworthy will be top 3 forwards assuming she can stay fit. Her scoring will likely drop from 2024 but that will still leave her in elite forward territory!