(15th Eagles player)
Albany-raised defender Sophie McDonald was signed from the Eagles' academy ahead of the club's entry into the AFLW competition.
West Coast career[]
After making a late change from hockey, McDonald spent 2019 as a key defender with Claremont in the WAFLW competition, additionally representing Western Australia at the national under-18 championships. On being signed she was described as competitive and having impressive athletic ability.[1]
McDonald played almost every game in her debut season, holding down a key defensive post, but her form dipped in 2021 as she was in and out of the senior side. That pattern continued in the first 2022 season, as she played six games, but she hit peak form later in the year, performing a number of impressive stopping efforts on opposition forwards.
McDonald was a standout performer down back during the difficult 2023 campaign, and finished fifth in the best and fairest. Unfortunately, she suffered from repeated concussions in 2024, managing just one senior appearance.
Stats[]
| Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | Cl | T | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 2 | 11 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 13 | 34 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 12 | 7 | 39 | 0 | 10 | |
| 2022B (S7) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 21 | 16 | 63 | 2 | 20 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 13 | 33 | 62 | 1 | 11 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tot | 37 | 0 | 0 | 155 | 55 | 76 | 231 | 5 | 55 | |
| Avg | 0.0 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 6.2 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
References[]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_McDonald
https://australianfootball.com/players/playerseason/sophie%2Bmcdonald/20740
https://www.wafl.com.au/player/sophie-mcdonald
- ↑ Rhys Dickinson, westcoasteagles.com.au (25 September 2019), "AFLW: McDonald signs with Eagles": https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2019-09-25/aflw-mcdonald-signs-with-eagles
| Current AFLW playing squad |
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1.L.Wakfer, 2.Gibson, 3.Thomas, 4.Roberts, 5.Rowley, 6.Lewis, 7.Rentsch, 8.Painter, 9.Roux |
| Inaugural West Coast Eagles AFLW Team AFLW Round 1 2020 - Collingwood 5.8.38 def West Coast 1.5.11 |
|---|
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B: Belinda Smith, Talia Radan |