ROOS SWOOP
Three more Tassie players signed for AFLW
TASMANIA now has 11 players in the AFLW after three more were snapped up in yesterday’s women’s draft in Melbourne.
Burnie twins Chloe and Libby Haines and Clarence player Nicole Bresnehan will don the blue and white in the upcoming season after being taken by North Melbourne in the AFLW draft, bringing the Kangaroos’ Tasmanian contingent to eight.
Chloe and Libby Haines were selected with picks 55 and 58 respectively.
The Kangaroos earlier snared Victorians Daisy Bateman (Oakleigh Chargers) with pick 25 and Courteney Munn (Southern Saints) with pick 36, and rounded out their draft haul with Bresnehan at pick 63.
The Haines twins and Bresnehan joined Brittany Gibson, Daria Bannister, Emma Hum- phries, Jessie Williams and Maddison Smith as fellow Tassie Kangaroos.
North Melbourne was delighted with the strength of its Tasmanian representation.
“We have a stated aim to have half the side made up of Tasmanian talent and we are well on the way to achieving that,” said North Melbourne’s head of football operations Laura Kane. “The three girls today will join the five other Tasmanian girls we have at North Melbourne, which brings our total to eight, and that is a great result for the club and the state of Tasmania.
SHE had the longest wait of Tasmania’s three AFLW draftees but Nicole Bresnehan’s dreams of playing football at the highest level are now a reality.
The Clarence midfielder was taken by the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos with their final pick, 63, and joined twin sisters Chloe and Libby Haines (picks 55 and 58) as North’s three Tasmanian recruits in yesterday’s AFLW draft.
The former competitive swimmer enjoyed a stellar season with Clarence, finishing third in the TSLW best-andfairest count while also claiming Team of the Year honours.
“I was at work watching on my computer and was really shocked. I obviously had to wait until pretty late, but I was super excited when I saw my name on the screen,” Bresnehan told the Mercury.
“I’m only into my fourth season now but it’s great that all the hard work is paying off and it’s obviously going to be a lot tougher work over the next couple of months, but I’m ready for it.”
Drawn to the sport by her father Adrian, Bresnehan’s short time in the game has her pinching herself that in a matter of months she could be pulling on the blue and white in front of her closet supporters in her home state.
“Not having to relocate is great with work and things, but to be able to play in front of friends and family down here along with playing some games on the mainland will be an amazing feeling.”
The trio’s arrival at Arden St takes North’s Tasmanian contingent to eight players, with Brittany Gibson, Daria Bannister, Emma Humphries, Jessie Williams and Maddison Smith already signed to the competition’s newest expansion club, while Jess Wuetschner (Brisbane), Courtney Webb (Carlton) and Ellyse Gamble (Western Bulldogs) all opted to continue their careers at their current clubs.
Geelong Falcons midfielder Nina Morrison was selected as the No.l pick by Geelong, following in the footsteps of previous top selections Isabel Huntington (Western Bulldogs 2017) and Nicola Barr (GWS 2016) while North also picked Victorian pair Daisy Bateman and Courtney Munn.