Sierra Grieves - Welcome to Richmond

[RedmanWasHere]

Richmond and Western Jets.

It's not a strange pairing.

Welcome Sierra.

 

[Eraser]

I prayed for this and it happened

 

[toenail63]

Same club as Yassir.

Welcome to the Tigers Sierra, last year we got Bacon Vic Metro, coaches award, this year we get Vic Metro MVP.

Look forward to Sierra lining up alongside her favorite mid Mon Conti.

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1704725/2024-aflw-draft-first-pick

 

[Magic17]

Great stuff… she looks nice and speedy in her highlights reel. Welcome aboard Sierra.

 

[tugga]

Love this pick.

 

[TigermanM2]

Article on Sierra pre draft.

The competitive beast primed to take AFLW by storm​

She's racked up virtually every accolade possible to date, and Sierra Grieves isn't slowing down any time soon.

SIERRA Grieves is a competitive beast who is ready to make her mark on the big stage after a superb draft year.

The accolades have come thick and fast for the Yarraville Seddon Eagles product this year. Grieves was named the AFLW National Championships MVP, the Vic Metro MVP, All-Australian, Coates Talent League Team of the Year and the Western Jets Best and Fairest winner.

2024 couldn’t have gone much better for the contested beast and ball magnet.

“My year of footy has been pretty good, I didn’t set any expectations or standards for myself but the awards I’ve won has been really good,” she told AFL.com.au.

Grieves averaged 28.3 disposals, 3.3 marks, four tackles, 6.7 clearances and 4.3 inside 50s a game for Metro in the National Championships.

She was a crucial cog as Vic Metro reclaimed the National Championships throne after a two-year reign for South Australia.

“The awards give me confidence; it shows that my hard work has paid off. That doesn’t mean I’m finished working hard, I’ve still got to work hard, but it is nice,” she said.

Grieves has been in the talent pathways since she was 13 years old. It was that obvious, that early, that she was that good.

“It was very nerve-wracking rocking up as a 13-year-old when all the other girls were older than me. I remember first rocking up there and having no idea what to expect. I remember keeping to myself, but they were really good about it,” she said.

“I’ve learned so much along the way that has helped me with my footy. The Jets have helped me as a player and helped me to get to where I am today.

“The Jets have been a place I could call home, I’ve always been there.”

Grieves was fortunate enough to work closely with Sydney Swans gun Montana Ham and Hawk-turned-Saint Charlotte Baskaran during her time at the Jets.

The trio won a Coates Talent League premiership together in 2022 and Grieves says the pair have left a lasting impact on her as a footballer and as a person.

“Seeing them go through the draft and seeing how they went about things in their draft year, I sort of looked up to that a bit. They’ve helped me out a lot,” she said.

While the talented midfielder has wanted to be a footballer for as long as she can remember, the chance of hearing her name called out at Monday night’s draft is finally starting to sink in.

“13-year-old me didn’t really expect that I would be here today. It was always a dream to play AFLW, but I didn’t know if it was going to happen… being where I am now is honestly surreal.

“It would mean a lot to me, and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity.”

The 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft will be held on Monday December 16.

 

[TigermanM2]

​

Sierra Grieves​

height: 163cm
weight:
D.O.B: 18-05-2006
Leagues: Coates Talent League Girls, AFLW U18 Championships

SNAPSHOT: “A highly contested inside midfielder who can go forward, Grieves is one of those players with a high production floor and few obvious weaknesses”

Sierra Grieves had one of the most illustrious top-age years one could hope for, finishing 2024 as the AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships’ MVP, All-Australian, Vic Metro MVP, Coates Talent League and Rookie Me Central Team of the Year, and Western Jets best and fairest winner just to name a few.

The Western young gun has worked hard to get where she is today, having come through Yarraville Seddon Eagles with the boys and then the girls, before being scouted by the Western Jets in her 13th year. Along with fellow triple bottom-age talent Lou-Lou Field when she trained with the Under 18s side back in 2021, Grieves and Field both played key roles in the Jets’ breakthrough flag of 2022.

Alongside the likes of future draftees Montana Ham, Charlotte Baskaran and Kiera Whiley just to name a few, Grieves was always touted as a player to watch. Like many great champions, Grieves is humble and though quieter than some, let’s her football do the talking.

Grieves has managed 34 games with the Western Jets over the past three seasons, starting as a small forward and moving into an inside midfield role. In that time, she has slotted 25 goals, and averaged 23.5 disposals, 2.6 marks and 6.2 tackles. She is a consummate professional who maximises all her potential to have a high impact at every level she plays.

Grieves has represented Vic Metro the past two seasons, and though due to rotations she was limited to just the one game, she made up for lost time with a ridiculous 2024 campaign. She brought her own ball to averaged 28.3 disposals, 3.3 marks, 4.0 tackles, 6.7 clearances, 4.3 inside 50s and 2.0 rebound 50s, while kicking a couple of goals.

That earned her the aforementioned accolades and elevated her above many of her peers. She might not be the flashiest player around, but she has developed areas of her game to be more than just an inside midfielder, and that has taken her to another level. She has always been a very good player with plenty of weapons on the inside, but this year she showed she has some more strings to her bow.

STRENGTHS:

• Production
• Contested work
• Defensive pressure
• Consistency
• Forward craft
• Clearance ability
• Footy IQ

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Polish
• Kicking under pressure

PROFILE:

If you are looking for a player with a high floor (their lowest point of production) then Sierra Grieves is the one that comes to mind. Even in her quieter outings, Grieves finds a way to impact, even if not for herself, but others. She makes her teammates better and walk taller around her, with that offensive and defensive balance of traits really coming to the fore.

The best way to describe Grieves is she has a well-rounded and deep group of strengths, and even her improvements are more tweaks than anything else. She does not have a major deficiency that impacts the way she plays, and quiet often her areas of improvement are based around tidying up her kicking or polishing up her play when under pressure.

From a footballing perspective, Grieves has a great understanding of the game. The Western Bulldogs supporter has shown she can play as a pressure forward, and then as an inside midfielder. Her hands on the inside are clean, she picks the right options and can execute well by hand when extracting the ball. Her clearance numbers speak for themselves, and she is arguably the number one clearance player in the draft.

Some people might point to her size - 163cm - as a potential drawback compared to the more bigger midfielders but that is somewhat of a misconception because she can play a similar role to Maddy Prespakis with her crash-and-bash style, while still having that extra leg speed to get her out of trouble. She is not explosive, but she does have a nice first few steps, and with her power can get her hands free to clear it to a teammate.

Athletically she rates above average across the board, with her agility particularly high. Though none of those areas are an elite trait as such, she just does everything well, like the majority of her game. Up forward, she has the smarts and craft to not only hit the scoreboard, but set up her teammates with deft passes or unselfish taps forward.

Coming into the year, Grieves' outside game was an area that could further improve. Yes, she was an elite inside ball-winner, and of course she could do damage when playing up forward. But the next possession after the stoppage was a way she could further develop, and develop she did. More than a few times she won the ball in one-two situations, took multiple bounces and ran down a wing before putting the ball inside 50, or even kicked a running goal from just inside 50 against South Australia.

By the end of the season, Grieves had rounded out her game to have most people in agreement that when it came to improvements, there was not a drastic change needed. She could polish up her game under pressure particularly by foot, but with time and space, or once she gets a proper look, she is effective over multiple distances.

As a whole, Grieves is what you call a 'safe' choice for any AFLW club. She is the one player you can lock in to leave no stone unturned in her determination to be the best players she could be. The one player you can almost guarantee will find her place and just play her role each and every week. For that kind of guaranteed consistency, she is an obvious first round choice.

SUMMARY:

Sierra Grieves is such a well-rounded player, and while defensively she is elite, offensively she is just as good. Her outside game has developed, while her inside game and work up forward has always been brilliant. They say hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard, and Grieves works harder than most, but also has a stack of talent. A easy first round prospect who has earned the right to be in Top 10 conversations.

 

[sanaya]

i'll admit i haven't seen the whole top 10 highlights, just centra & howley, but for a player like grieves to get to 11 is either a very good thing for us, or a very good thing for the aflw in the future lmao (i.e. we got a steal or aflw talent is improving, but both can be true ofc)


from the little i've seen of her she looks like she doesn't really lack much as a midfielder and looks like she should be ready to go from day 1 next year which is a lovely sign. silver lining of sheerin leaving is a spot for her in the midfield..? do still hope we get to see wicksteed in the midfield sometime next year though


also love her handballing

 

[sanaya]

more footage of sierra grieves thanks to rookieme

 

[TigermanM2]

i'll admit i haven't seen the whole top 10 highlights, just centra & howley, but for a player like grieves to get to 11 is either a very good thing for us, or a very good thing for the aflw in the future lmao (i.e. we got a steal or aflw talent is improving, but both can be true ofc)


from the little i've seen of her she looks like she doesn't really lack much as a midfielder and looks like she should be ready to go from day 1 next year which is a lovely sign. silver lining of sheerin leaving is a spot for her in the midfield..? do still hope we get to see wicksteed in the midfield sometime next year though


also love her handballing

Think we have a bit of a steal here.

If Sierra was 175cm she would have gone top 5.

 

[toenail63]

i'll admit i haven't seen the whole top 10 highlights, just centra & howley, but for a player like grieves to get to 11 is either a very good thing for us, or a very good thing for the aflw in the future lmao (i.e. we got a steal or aflw talent is improving, but both can be true ofc)


from the little i've seen of her she looks like she doesn't really lack much as a midfielder and looks like she should be ready to go from day 1 next year which is a lovely sign. silver lining of sheerin leaving is a spot for her in the midfield..? do still hope we get to see wicksteed in the midfield sometime next year though


also love her handballing

Great highlights in your post. If you've got time to watch one match that was the best v the best, at highest level, metro v country then watch this game from the Nats highlighting our two draft picks. While Sierra is just a machine, another normal game for her, this game is probably the reason we opted for Zoe and not Ridewood, 25 possessions in this match as on baller and against a Vic Country midfield of Centra, Pick 1, Howley, pick 4 and Painter, pick 7 in the draft.

https://www.afl.com.au/video/117352...hFrom=1720926000001&references=AFL_MATCH:6791

Match report
It was a battle of stars in the midfield, Metro shading Country by four in the clearance count as a host of draft-eligible talent faced off.

Sara Howley (26 disposals, 12 clearances and a goal) and Ash Centra (29, three clearances and two goals) were outstanding for Country, Howley's customary dash on display as she charged up the field, while Centra was composed and able to extract herself from the contest with ease.

In the navy blue, Sierra Grieves (31 disposals, seven clearances) continued her ball-hunting ways, assisted by the versatile Zoe Hargreaves, who can play across all three lines but starred on the inside with 25 and seven clearances.

 

[Blinger]

Like the look of Sierra, has similar traits to Mon. Hopefully Mon takes her under her wing, as this young girl might add that added toughness in the mid's that we desperately need. Amazing she lasted to our pick with all the awards she got throughout her past season

 

[TigermanM2]

Like the look of Sierra, has similar traits to Mon. Hopefully Mon takes her under her wing, as this young girl might add that added toughness in the mid's that we desperately need. Amazing she lasted to our pick with all the awards she got throughout her past season

What are the odds of them being repeatedly mixed up by the AFLW commentators?

My money is on Kelly U being the worst.

 

[Stan Judkins]

Like the look of Sierra, has similar traits to Mon. Hopefully Mon takes her under her wing, as this young girl might add that added toughness in the mid's that we desperately need. Amazing she lasted to our pick with all the awards she got throughout her past season

well, I'll tell you for a fact, that she would've been top 3-5 easily in most previous drafts
probably 1 or 2 in a few of those years, especially Molans (2019) and McKenzies (2020) drafts which were very light on talent

it's even more amazing considering it was the 1st national draft, so could've/should've gone interstate early
i'd have Sierra Grieves ahead of Sara Howley, who went to GWS, on football ability but that's my own personal opinion

i'll stick my neck out.........she'll be as good if not better than Ellie McKenzie
Sierra reminds me of Hawthorn's Jas Fleming, same sort of player

 

[toenail63]

it's even more amazing considering it was the 1st national draft, so could've/should've gone interstate early
i'd have Sierra Grieves ahead of Sara Howley, who went to GWS, on football ability but that's my own personal opinion

i'll stick my neck out.........she'll be as good if not better than Ellie McKenzie
Sierra reminds me of Hawthorn's Jas Fleming, same sort of player

Both Grieves and Howley were MVP's of their teams, Metro & Country, but overall Sierra won the B&F Award for the entire comp so the panel of 9 judges agreed with you. Can see Jas in her, not just their smaller stature but in their exquisite timing and being able to slip bigger bodies.

Those clubs ahead of us already had a similar player, GWS have Parker so Howley is a different type of mid they need to complement her, or were desperate for a tall (Carlton, Bulldogs, Bombers, Geelong), From those clubs, if you look past her size, she has Maddy Prespakis's craft (I think mentioned in the rookie me draft article) and also I see some Parker in Sierra.

Grace, Mon & Ellie are going to have to protect Sierra around the contest next year, because you know she is going to get her hands on it often and her evasion and feeding to others so damaging so attention will come. This off season at training she just needs to park herself under McKinnon and Kelly's rucking as her homework.

 

[toenail63]

What are the odds of them being repeatedly mixed up by the AFLW commentators?

My money is on Kelly U being the worst.

She'd mix up Sabrina Frederick and Darcy Vescio.

 

[Cdog71]

She looks a beauty.
That sortve a year, BnF, player of the tournament, AA etc
It’s crazy the level a player has to get to if they’re under 165.

Best of luck Sierra!

 

[Bojangles17]

Gonna be a good player for us , haven’t felt like this since seeing Ellie Mc tapes prior to being drafted . Looks strong enough that she can go straight into the midfield too , great kick as well

 

[Bojangles17]

Like the look of Sierra, has similar traits to Mon. Hopefully Mon takes her under her wing, as this young girl might add that added toughness in the mid's that we desperately need. Amazing she lasted to our pick with all the awards she got throughout her past season

How tall is mon

 

[Matthew2708]

How tall is mon

165cm

 

[TigermanM2]

Hasn't kicked a ball for our club (let alone senior footy) yet but put this image in my all time favourites list.

Determination. Confidence. Strength. I could go on.

If you need to see what Strong and Bold looks like. This is it. Bring on 2025.

 

[Bojangles17]

Been thinking I wonder if FA is on the agenda in W they’d need to drop the tiered tpp first and I’d suggest it may be shorter than Mens 8 , more like 5-6y I’d say

 

[Phar Ace]

Hasn't kicked a ball for our club (let alone senior footy) yet but put this image in my all time favourites list.

Determination. Confidence. Strength. I could go on.

If you need to see what Strong and Bold looks like. This is it. Bring on 2025.

View attachment 2190819

Agree, she's up there with every draft pick that went higher. Can't wait to see how this plays out over the next five years and beyond.