Young star picked up

TOP NOTCH: Former East Gambier, Glenelg and state footballer Brooke Tonon was picked up by the Adelaide Crows in this week's AFLW draft.

MOUNT Gambier’s Brooke Tonon is the latest athlete from the Limestone Coast to be given a call up to the top level of her chosen sport.

The former East Gambier footballer was selected by the Crows in the AFLW draft, taken at pick number 20 this week.

Tonon moved up to Adelaide to chase her AFLW dream, with a 2021 SANFLW premiership at Glenelg the result.

She also made the team of the year as a defender.

Tonon also represented South Australia at the Under-19 AFLW Championships and received a call-up to the AFLW Academy mid-year.

She was recruited as a half-back/wing and is described by the club as an excellent kick and ranked sixth in the SANFLW for total kicks this season, despite missing three games.

The club said she reads the play well across half-back and can break the lines on a wing.

Tonon is also a ferocious tackler and a former member of the Crows Academy.

“Brooke worked really hard in the off season,” Crows head of women’s football Phil Harper said.

“Brooke and her family made the big decision for her to move away from home in Mount Gambier to attend boarding school in Adelaide and focus on her football with Glenelg.

“She made some pretty big sacrifices for a 17-year-old and it paid off for her with a SANFLW premiership and a strong individual season.

“Brooke is a beautiful kick and good decision maker.

“Brooke is very driven to succeed and we know she will fit right in with our culture.”