Abbie Ballard is a top-age talent with great contested traits and offensive impact, playing between midfield and forward for West Adelaide. Whilst she is a small player, Ballard packs quite a punch with her defensive pressure – particularly her terrific tackling technique – and her contested work both at the coal face and around forward stoppages.

STRENGTHS:

• Kicking
• Contested work
• Versatility
• Footy smarts
• Defensive pressure
• Leadership

KEY IMPROVEMENT:

• Scoreboard impact

Abbie Ballard is a player who is renowned for her defensive work and leadership, captaining West Adelaide into the SANFL Women’s Grand Final this year after an injury to regular captain Bec Owen. Ballard had her fair share of setbacks, missing out on being drafted last year, and then a long-term injury in the preseason ruled her out of the AFL Women’s Under 19 Championships this year.

Ballard returned to the state league where she had an immediate impact for West Adelaide up forward, then worked her way into the midfield. She is not a huge marking presence given her size, and she did only kick the one goal in that role, but was more often or not a high half-forward looking to pinpoint passes inside 50. She has a potent left boot that hits targets with ease, and combined with high-level footy smarts, Ballard is able to make good decisions with ball-in-hand.