Annabel Johnson will line up for Geelong, with the Echuca player snapped up by the Cats at pick 15 in the AFLW draft four months ago.
Johnson found her place in Geelong’s VFL Women’s program in 2021, where she averaged 14.7 disposals, 4.5 tackles and 2.8 marks a game.
She will continue her swift rise to the top level when she runs out at GMHBA Stadium this season and will do so alongside fellow GV recruits Benalla’s Becky Webster and Kyabram's Julia Crockett-Grills.
Crocket-Grills and Webster have become regulars in the Cats’ midfield, after making their debuts in 2019.
Former Shepparton netball star Grace Egan will hope to continue her remarkable run of form in the AFLW, as she gears up for her third season with Carlton.
Playing a full complement of games in her first two seasons with the Baggers, the former Richmond VFLW player has well and truly solidified her spot in Carlton’s midfield.
After taking home Carlton’s Best First Year Player award in 2020, Egan backed it up in 2021 — and there’s no reason why she can’t elevate her game even further in the year to come.
Talented Shepparton United product Aurora Smith landed at Whitten Oval last season, after the Western Bulldogs selected her with pick 25 in the AFLW draft.
Smith was nabbed by the Dogs after she was one of the biggest improvers in the 2021 NAB League Girls’ season, becoming the most prolific wing in the competition for the Murray Bushrangers.
Smith also claimed the Bushrangers’ 2021 best-and-fairest award.
She will join former Mansfield netballer Bonnie Toogood at the Kennel, where preparations are under way for her fifth season with the Dogs.
Toogood was nominated for the NAB AFLW Rising Star award in round two, 2018, after recording 10 disposals and three tackles in a win over Brisbane.
The key forward was involved in every game of the 2021 season – adding nine goals to her career tally.
The sixth season of AFLW kicks off on Friday, January 7, with all matches to be streamed live on the AFL Women's, AFL Live and Telstra TV AFLW apps.
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