Draftee Holly Ifould was surrounded by friends and family as Fremantle selected her in the 2023 AFLW Draft at pick 49, the Club’s first selection of the evening.

18-year-old Ifould spoke to the Club after hearing her name called out, and said she was ‘ecstatic’ with the outcome.

“(It feels) unreal right now. I’m feeling pretty ecstatic and grateful for the opportunity,” Ifould said.

“When Fremantle called my name out, I started crying and had everyone jumping on me. It was such a genuine and pure moment, and nothing can replace it."

Ifould said she wasn’t short of company for the announcement, celebrating at her local footy Club with her loved ones.

“I had all my South (Adelaide) girls from the footy club, friends from school, and my family as well,” Ifould said.

It was a big waiting game for Ifould on Monday as she waited for her ATAR score as well as the 2023 AFLW Draft to begin.

“I was pretty nervous. All of us SA girls got our ATAR scores today as well, so I was pretty nervous for that (as well),” Ifould said.

“I just had to trust that I did the work, and it was out my control at this stage so that controlled the nerves a bit."

Ifould touched on her journey into football after spending eight years in calisthenics.

“I played a bit of school footy. It wasn’t high level or anything, just a fun thing,” Ifould said.

“I wanted to get into footy for the environment and the culture.

“I (then) started playing for Willunga Demons down South (Adelaide), played for them for a year and we won two premierships in a day and then was taken up by South (Adelaide).

Ifould mentioned some big football highlights in her career to date, one of them being winning the best on ground medal in the State Academy v SANFLW U23 All-Stars match.

“(It was) especially cool as a winger, sometimes you have to sacrifice a bit for the structure of your team,” Ifould said.

“We had all of our Academy players out, so I took it upon myself to step up and be a leader.

“I really worked hard during that game to showcase my ability when we needed people to step up and own that role. I was pretty ecstatic to get that.”

Making the move West, Ifould is keen to get over to Western Australia and gain some independence.

“(I am) keen to move. It will be cool to get out of SA and gain some independence living in a different state.

“I have heaps of friends and some distant family over there as well, which will be good for some support.”

The young gun hopes to use her endurance as her secret weapon, as she joins the Fremantle family.

“My (strengths are my) endurance and ability to work in defence, but also create up forward as well,” Ifould said.

“My discipline to stay wide and hold that structure and when given the opportunity then use that width to use my speed and run down the field.”

Ifould is keen to meet and play alongside Fremantle’s recent pick up in Ash Brazill, as well as vice-captain Ange Stannett.

“Ash Brazill is pretty cool who I know you just picked up, I saw that and was like ‘wow’, Ifould said.

“Angelique (Stannett), I really love her and watching her in the midfield as well, she’s a little gun.”

Ifould said the rest of her evening will be uneventful, after a massive day waiting in anticipation.

“I might have to get a few more pictures with people but after a big day we might have to go home and just crash to be honest,” Ifould said.

“We have celebrated all night which has been really good. It’s been a full on day, but a pretty good outcome so I’m very happy.”

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