WAFLW talents Louvel-Finn, Gilbey among West Aussies to blitz State CombineThursday, October 16, 2025 - 3:08 PM - by Jordan McArdle

WA draft hopefuls combined for a whopping 14 top-five results in the recent AFLW State Combine testing.

Six West Aussies tested at the WA State Draft Combine on Sunday and were among the best of the 42 players taking part across Australia.

AFLW Under-18s All-Australian and East Fremantle gun Maya Louvel-Finn produced five top-five results of her own, with Claremont WAFLW premiership player Ella Gilbey not far behind with four.

Louvel-Finn, who has been impressive since returning from a long-term knee injury to boost her draft credentials, came second in the running vertical jump (right) with a 63cm jump, while finishing top-five in three sprint categories.

“The feedback has been for me to focus on the little things. I wanted to work on my endurance, which I’ve improved heaps on over the past couple months,” Louvel-Finn reflected after the combine.

“They’ve just basically told me to keep working, don’t stop. Footy fundamentals, just the classics, keep improving on them.

“I was so happy when I got the call that I was invited to the state combine. That was the goal, just to get there.

“I wanted to be able to get there and showcase on my talents and what I can do.”

Gilbey topped the vertical jump category with a 60cm jump, 3cm clear of the next best measurement.

She also finished third in both the 10m (1.872 seconds) and 20m (3.176) sprints.

Perth running machine Sienna Timmermans clocked the fastest time in the 2km time trial with a blistering effort of 7:34, six seconds cleared of her nearest rival.

Swan Districts teammates Sienna Gerardi (70cm) and Ava Stewart (69cm) had a one-two finish in the vertical jump (left) standings, while East Perth’s Lucy Greenwood came second in the agility testing with a time of 8.34 seconds.

“To have 14 top-five results between our six girls at the AFLW State Draft Combine is a testament to their hard work and dedication across the season,” WA Football’s Manager Female Talent Programs and Coaching Specialist Trent Cooper said.

“We’re bullish about how many girls we can get drafted from WA in the AFLW Draft in December after a strong year across the board.

“We had a record number of players invited to the combines this year as well as a record number of AFLW Under-18s All-Australians so we’ve got plenty of talent putting their names in lights for higher honours.”