Where AFLW Grand Final stars come from...

Find out which Victorian community clubs produced the Melbourne and Brisbane Lions players who will compete in the 2022 NAB AFLW Grand Final for season seven.

Community football is the heartbeat of so many towns and communities across Victoria, and play a huge part in developing the stars of the elite game, both AFL and AFLW.

The pathway system for girls has evolved rapidly in recent years with players having the opportunity to progress through a full pathway, from NAB AFL Auskick through to community club football and onto talent pathway programs, before being drafted to AFLW clubs, in the same way boys come through the system. But, many current AFLW players didn't have clear access to a streamlined pathway when they were younger, which is why some started their football journeys later, came from other sports or weren't associated with a junior community club. 

Looking ahead to the AFLW Grand Final on Sunday November 27, to be played at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield at 2:40pm AEDT, powerhouse community club the Darebin Falcons lay claim to producing six Demons - Karen Paxman, Daisy Pearce, Libby Birch, Lauren Pearce, Gabrielle Colvin and Maeve Chaplin. 

Three players - Maddison Gay, Kate Hore and Allison Brown - were once part of the St Kilda Sharks, while Southern Saints, VU Western Spurs, North Geelong, St Mary's and Newtown & Chillwell each produced two players. 

Here's the full list of players who came from Victorian clubs:

BRISBANE

Phoebe Monahan - North Geelong FC (Vic)

Ruby Svarc - St Mary’s (Vic) / Essendon (VFLW)

MELBOURNE

Alyssa Bannan - South Morang (Vic) / Northern U18

Alison Brown - St Kilda Sharks (VFLW) / Carlton - St Kilda

Libby Birch - Darebin Falcons (VFLW) / Western Bulldogs

Georgia Campbell - Knox / Eastern Ranges

Maeve Chaplin - Darebin Falcons (VFLW)

Gabrielle Colvin - Darebin Falcons (VFLW)

Megan Fitzsimon - Bairnsdale (Vic) / Sale City (Vic) / Gippsland U18

Maddison Gay - St Kilda Sharks (VFLW/Carlton)

Tahlia Gilliard - Moonee Valley (Vic) / Essendon Douta Stars (Vic) / Calder U18 / Essendon (VFLW)

Tyla Hanks - Cora Lynn (Vic) / Beaconsfield (Vic) / Gippsland U18 / Carlton (VFLW)

Maggie Harris - Horsham Saints (Vic)

Tayla Harris - St Kilda Sharks VFLW

Shelley Heath - South Mornington (Vic) / Dromana (Vic) / Mt Martha (Vic) / Dandenong U18 - Southern Saints (VFLW)

Kate Hore - Beaumaris (Vic) / St Kilda Sharks (VFLW)

Samantha Johnson - Southern Saints (VFLW)

Sarah Lampard - VU Western Spurs (VFLW)

Eliza McNamara - Ashburton (Vic) / East Malvern (Vic) / Sandringham U18

Lily Mithen - Newtown & Chillwell (Vic) / North Geelong (Vic)

Karen Paxman - Lalor Park (Vic) / VU Western Spurs (Vic) / Darebin Falcons (VFLW)

Daisy Pearce - Bright (Vic) - Darebin Falcons (VFLW)

Lauren Pearce - Darebin Falcons (VFLW)

Olivia Purcell - Newtown & Chilwell (Vic) - St Mary’s (Vic) - Geelong U18/Geelong (VFLW) - Geelong

Casey Sherrif - Gippsland U18 / Casey (VFLW)

Eliza West - Casey (VFLW)

Charlotte Wilson - Southern Saints (VFLW)

Eden Zanker - Tooleybuc-Manangatang (Vic) / Woorinen (Vic) / Bendigo U18