WAFLW Ones To Watch : Olivia WolmaransWednesday, July 2, 2025 - 1:25 PM

Key forwards don’t grow on trees, especially ones that are as athletically gifted as Olivia Wolmarans.

The 180cm Mt Hawthorn product is one of the fittest players in the WAFLW, while also being among the elite aerial talents in WA.

Wolmarans has long been touted as a top AFLW draft prospect and in November this year appears set to be one of, if not the first Western Australian selected in the first round.

Wolmarans continues to go from strength to strength, having already represented WA in the State Under 16’s team at the 2023 AFL National Championships, before playing for the Under 18’s in the same year as a 15-year-old.

The year prior, at just 14-years-old she booted 15 goals in 11 Rogers Cup matches for Subiaco.

In 2024, Wolmarans took her game to another level, kicking 15 goals from 34 scoring shots in her 13 games at senior level in the WAFLW, good enough to win the Lions leading goalkicker award.

This led her to selection in the Under 18’s State side again, where she was one of Western Australia’s best players as a bottom-age prospect, averaging 14 disposals and four marks per game, while kicking four goals in three representative matches.

She was one of three WA players to be named in the Under 18’s All-Australian team, receiving the honour alongside top 2024 WA draft prospect Zipporah Fish and fellow top 2025 draft prospect Evie Cowcher.

This season, Wolmarans looks set to have her best season to date having already booted 13 goals through just seven WAFLW matches, including bags of four in round 1 and three in round 8.

Those happened to be her best two games for the season from which she also posted 18 disposals, seven marks and four tackles against West Perth and 15 disposals and seven marks against Peel Thunder.

Wolmarans doesn’t shy away from the big moments; she thrives in them.

She stepped up in WA’s trial match against Claremont and slotted multiple goals to lead them to a comeback victory and nailed two more goals against Queensland in their opening National Championships game – a narrow loss at the death.

In that match Wolmarans produced 13 disposals, three marks and two inside 50s to compliment her scoreboard impact.

The versatile tall is capable of chopping out in the ruck as well, and while this won’t be necessary for WA in the current tournament, she has done so at a solid level for the Lions in the WAFLW, both this year and last.

Her height and strong frame allow her to contest the football in the air and provides another arrow in her quiver for AFLW clubs to seek out and develop.

Though she has superb hands above her head and in pack situations, Wolmarans is just as impressive at ground level, her ability to scoop the ball up off the deck cleanly another strong attribute for her during games.

She uses her strength to lay bone-crunching tackles and makes her presence felt inside 50.

The most impressive key forward in the draft, Wolmarans will more than likely finish the year as Subiaco’s leading goalkicker for a second straight season and may well lead the entire league despite missing a fair chunk of games during these National Championships.

Expect her to have a huge impact in the next two games for Western Australia during the champs as well as in the latter half of the season for the Lions, and keep watching her as she establishes herself as one of the top draft prospects in the country ahead of November’s AFLW draft.