More highlights

We have selected Chloe Baker-West with pick 22

Position: Midfielder

Height: 163cm

From: Victoria, Calder Cannons/Strathmore

Very hard-working and driven, Baker-West is determined to be an AFLW player. An inside midfielder with the potential to be redeployed at AFLW level to a small forward or even rebounding role. Ball magnet who's good in congestion, and can also hit the scoreboard. Won Vic Metro's U16 MVP two years running.

Edited yesterday at 09:441 day by Random Task

23 minutes ago, Random Task said:

We have selected Chloe Baker-West with pick 22

What an absolute steal!

3 minutes ago, dice said:

What an absolute steal!

Definitely slid!

Yes that’s a great pick.

Chloe Baker-West 👏👏👏❤️🤬

Will be interesting to see if either break into the team for some games in their first year (and Aoife as well).

A few gaps still, but you kind of have to roll the dice with a list of 30. We'll want our tall defenders to stay healthy, for instance.

B: Taylor, Gillard

HB: Goldrick, Lampard, Chaplin

C: McNamara, Purcell, Mackin

HF: Fitzsimon, Harris, Wotherspoon

F: Hore, Austin

FOLL: Pearce, Hanks, Heath

IC: Paxman, Mahony, O'Hehir, Bannan, Campbell

EMERG: Allen, Baker-West, Ebert

Rest of the squad: Pisano, Gall, Dethridge, Beasley, Hose, Horisk

Chloe Baker-West
State: Victoria Metro
State League Club: Calder Cannons
Community Club: Strathmore
Date of Birth: 02/02/2007
Height: 163cm
Weapons: Stoppage work and footy IQ
AFLW player comparison: Shineah Goody (Port Adelaide)
Player ranking points (Coates Talent League): 191 points per game

A midfielder/defender who had a great year for the Calder Cannons, Baker-West earned Coates Talent League Team of the Year honours after averaging 33.1 disposals, 7.3 clearances and 4.8 tackles in nine matches. Unfortunately, she missed this year’s National Championships after being concussed in the opening minutes of Victoria Metro’s first game. Very strong in the contest and a smart user of the ball, she has been a dominant player throughout her junior career, winning Victoria Metro’s MVP award and All Australian honours at the U16 National Championships in 2023.

23 minutes ago, WERRIDEE said:

B: Taylor, Gillard

HB: Goldrick, Lampard, Chaplin

C: McNamara, Purcell, Mackin

HF: Fitzsimon, Harris, Wotherspoon

F: Hore, Austin

FOLL: Pearce, Hanks, Heath

IC: Paxman, Mahony, O'Hehir, Bannan, Campbell

EMERG: Allen, Baker-West, Ebert

Rest of the squad: Pisano, Gall, Dethridge, Beasley, Hose, Horisk

Good on you Werridee. Love it.

baker-west compares herself to tyla hanks - yes please!

the allen highlights showcase some nicely weighted kicks that hit targets; that's what i'm keen to see more of at the dees

Fair write up on Jordyn Allen on Rookie Me Central. Not sure if she is a running back or outside mid.

STRENGTHS:

+ Explosive speed

+ Footy IQ

+ Kicking

+ Decision making

+ Hurt factor

+ Rebounding

+ Upside

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Aerial ability

- Strength

Allen is one of those players who can inflict an incredible amount of pain on the opposition with both her running patterns and disposal. She loves to tuck the ball under the arm and either give-and-go or burst forward and hit a target lace-out inside 50. Her work with the ball is among the most damaging going around, and she does have that two-way running ability even if her offensive game is what stands out.

With ball in hand, Allen thinks through her decisions and does not waste too many, finding teammates further afield to utilise, and nailing those trickier kicks. Quite often the option it looks like she is going to take is merely a fleeting thought as she has spotted a longer option in a more dangerous position. If she needs extra meterage to get there, she will burst away or attempt to link up one more disposal before launching forward.

Off the ball, Allen holds a firm line and is not afraid to duck back into defence to mop up or help out, which is crucial for any midfielder. She has already shown her potency when off half-back, and since moving onto a wing and then inside, she has proven that her traits are adaptable. That hurt factor which is an intangible element is undoubtedly one of the huge ticks in Allen's game.

Allen's pace allows her to breakaway from opponents who would quite often have the extra strength on her as the Eastern Ranges talent is quite light. She packs a punch when laying a tackle - and produced an impressive 5.7 per game last year and another 3.4 per match in 2025 - but could further bulk up in order to both stick more tackles, and shrug them at the same time.

On top of that improvement, Allen can further develop her aerial ability. She finds space and can mark out there, but is not a known aerialist and combined with her lighter frame, will not win too many one-on-ones in the air. It is a different story at ground level of course, where Allen can go to work and with her explosiveness and smarts work it out of congestion.

Naturally these elements give an indication that Allen could further improve which is only a positive for the Eastern Ranges talent. All in all, her outside game is brilliant, and though not a contested ball specialist, Allen's inside game also got plenty of experience in 2025. She is one who will be a human highlights reel at the next level, so watch her get to work.

And the Rookie Me Central analysis on Chloe Baker-West

STRENGTHS:

+ Production

+ Versatility

+ Reading the play

+ Footy IQ

+ Kicking

+ Vision

+ One-on-ones

+ Defensive pressure

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Composure

- Explosive speed

- Continuity

Baker-West really has it all when it comes to her game. The durability over the last two seasons will be a little bit of a question mark, but she has still managed to get out and show what she can do when on the park as she did in nine Talent League games this season. What you get with Baker-West is sublime footy IQ, sheer ball-winning ability and a knack to cover the ground with ease, winning possession after possession, even in the same chain.

While Baker-West may not have explosive speed, she still cruises around the field effectively and is certainly not slow. She can separate herself from opponents by darting or weaving, and also shrugging would-be tacklers with great strength through the hips. That same strength extends overhead where she, pound-for-pound would be among the best contested marks.

Though she is only 165cm, she can jump and clunk consistently and her ridiculous numbers suggest just that. An average of 5.8 marks in 2025, of which more than one per game is contested, shows her aerial prowess, but she is just as competitive at ground level. Her defensive pressure has always been brilliant for a player who wins the ball so much, and while some of her huge disposal tallies can be attributed to getting into loose space and racking them up, she does the hard running as well to compete at every stoppage.

Looking at her disposal, her kicking with any time or space is a delight and she can hit short, sharp passes, on the 45 or find a target long down the line with superior vision. The knock on that element of her game is her composure around stoppages as by her own admission she can tend to "bomb it" when under pressure. That is linked to her lack of explosiveness which she was hoping to develop over time.

From a football perspective, Baker-West has great IQ and by reading the play, is able to get back when needed, then surge forward if required. She finds her possessions in all manner of ways, and while she does not kick a heap of goals, has played as a forward in her younger years, booting five goals from seven games in 2023.

Ultimately with Baker-West, clubs know what they are getting, even if they have not seen much of it the last two seasons. She can use both sides of her body if required, has no issues getting to the right spots winning the ball, can impact on all three lines and fill any hole required. While a little smaller than the modern day taller midfielders, she competes above her size and is still taller than a number of midfielders at AFLW level.

Expect her to land somewhere in the first round given her accolades and potential, with too much upside and potential with her to stray much beyond the top 10, and she could very easily be inside it as well.

12 hours ago, Dees_In_October said:

More highlights

4.25 and the follow up, just what we need

15 minutes ago, BangBnagBang said:

4.25 and the follow up, just what we need

Stop. Stop. She's already dead.

Ten second in and the Jordyn Allen highlights reel has me satisfied. Running across the 50 and nailing a goal is premium gear in the women's game because the opportunities to try will be there for so long as there are the reduced numbers.

Looks like she has good awareness, can think fast and understands position in terms of momentum rather than just location.

afl.com.au/aflw

Jordyn Allen V2: Draft hopeful keen to make her own name

She shares a name and game style with Magpies defender and could soon be sharing the field

"I fractured it in four spots at the start of the third quarter, but Josie (Bamford), one of my good friends, I showed her. I was like 'I think I just broke my hand' and she looked at it just like 'Nah, I think you're fine'. So, I kept playing,"

I like her so much I'd be awkward around her at parties.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by Little Goffy

1 hour ago, BangBnagBang said:

4.25 and the follow up, just what we need

A ripping tackle and a brilliant bump. Real aggression. You are right, just what we need. The first tackle should have been a holding the ball free to Jordyn. I assume the ump knew that she was coming to us though and was just getting her used to being ripped off.

Very happy with Chloe Baker-West and Jordyn Allen coming onboard along with our other recruits but disappointed that Rigoni has been delisted wtf and ended up at Collingwood.

Jemma Bastiani is an AFL stats guru and her comments on the Dees makes for exciting reading:

afl.com.au/aflw

Bolters, sliders, steals: How did your club go in the AFL...

Who did your club pick up at Monday night's Telstra AFLW Draft? Gemma Bastiani takes a look at the comp's newest players

Players selected: Jordyn Allen (pick No.16), Chloe Baker-West (pick No.22)

With their first pick the Demons opted for neat rebounding defender Jordyn Allen, which will be ideal for their hard-running, slingshot style of footy. Her kicking is among the best of the draft class, perfect for setting up that transition footy, and will help to cover players like Maeve Chaplin and Shelley Heath when they are increasingly needed up around the footy. Making out like bandits, Melbourne also managed to nab Chloe Baker-West with pick No.22. One of the most skilful players in the draft class, her footskills and capacity to open up the play is very Tyla Hanks-esque, and she will suit Melbourne to a tee.

29 minutes ago, DeeZone said:

Very happy with Chloe Baker-West and Jordyn Allen coming onboard along with our other recruits but disappointed that Rigoni has been delisted wtf and ended up at Collingwood.

Yes, @DeeZone bringing in two highly rated players with elite foot skills is fantastic news.

I think the knock on Jemma may be her kicking and footy smarts, despite her natural speed and size. She should enjoy good opportunities at the Pies and will reunite with her one-time Casey Demons teammate, Charlotte Brewer (granddaughter of former Melbourne and Collingwood player Ross Brewer).

15 minutes ago, Meggs said:

Jemma Bastiani is an AFL stats guru and her comments on the Dees makes for exciting reading:

afl.com.au/aflw

Bolters, sliders, steals: How did your club go in the AFL...

Who did your club pick up at Monday night's Telstra AFLW Draft? Gemma Bastiani takes a look at the comp's newest players

Players selected: Jordyn Allen (pick No.16), Chloe Baker-West (pick No.22)

With their first pick the Demons opted for neat rebounding defender Jordyn Allen, which will be ideal for their hard-running, slingshot style of footy. Her kicking is among the best of the draft class, perfect for setting up that transition footy, and will help to cover players like Maeve Chaplin and Shelley Heath when they are increasingly needed up around the footy. Making out like bandits, Melbourne also managed to nab Chloe Baker-West with pick No.22. One of the most skilful players in the draft class, her footskills and capacity to open up the play is very Tyla Hanks-esque, and she will suit Melbourne to a tee.

It seems like we're still pursuing the fast rebound transition game and I'm pretty happy about that

1 hour ago, DeeZone said:

Very happy with Chloe Baker-West and Jordyn Allen coming onboard along with our other recruits but disappointed that Rigoni has been delisted wtf and ended up at Collingwood.

Seems she may have been offered 2 years at Pies and we happily delisted her so Pies could sign as a DFA? Not sure why it wasn't done via a trade though???

A little bit on the club's approach to the draft:

Also it seems this draft was weaker at the very top end compared to last year's. Apparently next year's is looking much stronger. With Tassie meant to come into the league in 2028, the 2027 draft will be impacted by that, so the 2026 draft will be an important one (well, aren't they all!).

I'm sure their playing styles will distinguish them soon enough, but at the moment I'm getting a bit of this vibe from Jordyn and Chloe.

Amusingly on my wishlist for the draft was an inside mid MINIMUM 165cm. So of course we go and draft two 165cm players 😆