2025 Hostplus SANFLW Pocket Profile – Sturt

SANFL’s ZAC MILBANK breaks down all you need to know about the Double Blues heading into the 2025 Hostplus SANFL Women’s League season.

COMING
Alex Ballard (returned/Port Adelaide AFLW), Gypsy Schirmer (South Adelaide), Eqxelle Evans (South Adelaide), Maddie Fitzgerald (West Adelaide/Blackwood), Roxy Tyler (Scotch OC), Charlotte Copson (Mount Barker), Lily Whiteman (Glenunga)

GOING
India Rasheed (Adelaide AFLW), Kate Harris (retired), Jaimee Wittervan (retired), Alysha Healy (Central District), Sarah Wallace (work)

Saturday February 22
South Adelaide v Sturt at Magain Stadium from 12.30pm

Saturday March 1
Sturt v North Adelaide at the Summit, Mount Barker from 12.30pm

Gypsy Schirmer is set to provide Sturt with plenty of flexibility after departing South Adelaide during the off-season.

The Panthers’ 2022 best-and-fairest winner is eager for a fresh start with the Double Blues, now coach Michael O’Connor needs to find her best fit in his 2025 line-up.

With 39 games of SANFLW experience under her belt, Schirmer presents as a tough match-up for the opposition if she settles in the centre square, given she measures in at 178cm.

She claimed Sturt’s Senior Emerging Talent award in 2024 and now Sophie Thredgold is ready to elevate to another level in 2025.

One of seven Double Blues in the SA U18 Girls Academy, Thredgold has established herself as a reliable defender in her 14 SANFLW appearances last season.

Now, the 17-year-old is presenting herself as option to be injected into Sturt’s midfield rotation, with coach Michael O’Connor noting she had returned to preseason ”fitter and stronger” while continuing to fine tune her skills in craft sessions.