Daisy Pearce is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Widely regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football and one of its first superstars, Pearce has served as Melbourne captain since the competition's inaugural season, having also captained the club in the women's exhibition games in the years prior. She also captained Victoria in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match in 2017, where she was adjudged best afield.
Brianna Iris Davey is an Australian footballer in both the Association football (soccer) and Australian rules football codes. In soccer, she was a goalkeeper for the national women's team the Matildas and played in the W-League for Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City. In 2016, she transitioned from soccer to Australian rules football, and was one of two initial marquee recruits for the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She won the inaugural Carlton best and fairest award and was named in the 2017 AFL Women's All-Australian team. Davey served as Carlton captain from 2018 to 2019 before being traded to the Collingwood Football Club. She was appointed Collingwood co-captain alongside Steph Chiocci in 2021, and won the AFLW Player's Association's Most Valuable Player award for the 2021 season.
Darcy Vescio is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. As a heavily marketed marquee player, Vescio has been referred to as a "household name" in Australia by ESPN.
Kara Antonio is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL Women's competition.
The 2017 AFL Women's season was the first season of the elite women's Australian rules football competition. Eight teams competed in the league, all of which are associated with existing Australian Football League (AFL) clubs. The first game was played on Friday, 3 February, and the season concluded with the grand final on Saturday, 25 March.
Lauren Arnell is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's competition. She served as Carlton's inaugural AFLW team captain in the 2017 season.
Emma Zielke is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's competition. She was the club's inaugural AFLW team captain, leading in 2017 and 2018.
Chelsea Randall is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She is one of the club's inaugural AFLW team co-captains.
Emma King is an Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition.
Melissa Hickey is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She served as Geelong captain in the club's first two AFL Women's seasons. She also played in the Victorian Women's Football League/VFL Women's for eleven seasons, representing the St Albans Spurs, Darebin and Geelong. In the VWFL/VFLW, Hickey won seven premierships, represented Victoria on three occasions and featured in the VFL Women's team of the year.
Karen Paxman is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A defender, 1.70 metres (5.6 ft) tall, Paxman plays primarily on the half-back line with the ability to push into the midfield. She first played football at sixteen years of age and won a premiership and league best and fairest in her first year. She played in the premier division of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) from the 2009 season and won three VWFL premierships with St Albans and the Darebin Falcons, in addition to a VFL Women's premiership with Darebin. Her accolades in football include three league best and fairest, state representation on four occasions, featuring in the VFL Women's team of the year and is a five-time All-Australian.
Alyssa Mifsud is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their fifth selection and fortieth overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the fifteen point loss to Brisbane at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 season. She played every match in her debut season to finish with seven games, in addition to placing equal third in the league goalkicking with nine goals. Melbourne signed Mifsud for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017. She decided to step away from the club and pursue new ambitions by the end of 2018.
Shelley Scott is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their sixth selection and forty-first overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the fifteen point loss to Brisbane at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 season. She missed one match during the season, the round five match against Greater Western Sydney due to a shoulder injury.
Mia-Rae Clifford is an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne, Geelong, and Fremantle in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition.
Brooke Patterson is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their thirteen selection and 104th overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the nineteen point win against Collingwood at Ikon Park in round two of the 2017 season. She played the next two matches before missing the round five match against Greater Western Sydney due to a hamstring injury. She returned for the final round match against Fremantle at Casey Fields to finish with four matches for the season.
Jessica Anderson is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Western Bulldogs in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Jasmine Grierson is an Australian rules footballer playing for North Melbourne in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their eighteenth selection and 135th overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the fifteen point loss to Brisbane at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 season. After the six point win against Carlton at Casey Fields in round four—in which she recorded sixteen disposals, five marks and two tackles—she was the round nominee for the AFLW Rising Star. She played every match in her debut season to finish with seven games.
Sarah Jolly is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their nineteenth selection and 145th overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the nineteen point win against Collingwood at Ikon Park in round two of the 2017 season. She played the next week in the fourteen point win against the Western Bulldogs at VU Whitten Oval before being omitted for the round four match against Carlton at Casey Fields. She returned for the five point loss to Greater Western Sydney at Blacktown International Sportspark Oval in round five, which was her last match for the year and she finished the season with three games. She was not retained on Melbourne's list at the end of the season and was subsequently delisted in May 2017.
Elise Hogan (née Strachan) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. Hogan played with the Bendigo Thunder in the premier division of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) during the 2016 season, including playing in the grand final, in which the club lost by thirteen points to Deer Park. Despite missing out on selection in the 2016 AFL Women's draft, she trained with the Melbourne Football Club as a back-up player.
The 2018 AFL Women's season was the second season of the elite women's Australian rules football competition. Eight teams competed in the league, the same as the previous season, all of which are associated with existing Australian Football League (AFL) clubs. The first game was played on Friday, 2 February, and concluded with the grand final on Saturday, 24 March.
