AFLW Draft: East Fremantle WAFLW coach Matt Templeton warns clubs on passing up on top WA prospect Zippy Fish

East Fremantle coach Matt Templeton has issued a warning to AFLW clubs that passing over young midfielder Zippy Fish in Monday’s draft would come back to haunt them. The two-time WAFLW coach of the year has had a front row seat to the development of a midfielder long tipped to be one of the first players taken in Monday night’s draft. But late mail indicates Fish might slide just a little bit deeper into the first round, with South Fremantle tall Molly O’Hehir now favoured as the State’s top pick. AFLW DRAFT HUB: See WA’s top prospects here The men’s draft has a long history of late picks winning Brownlow medals or starring on the big stage. Templeton believes Fish could still be the best player in the pool. “There’s a litany of people in the men’s AFL draft, the people that didn’t draft Buddy Franklin at No.1, the people that overlooked Dusty Martin, this will be one,” he told The West Australian. “If someone doesn’t pick her first they will have egg on their face for the rest of their careers. “So I’d say she’ll go early, but whatever number she goes at and wherever she goes they’ve got an absolute gem on their hands.” Templeton says the weight of expectation hasn’t affected the 18-year-old over the past 12 months. “I think she’s very good at compartmentalising and she’s tough on herself,” he said. “I think the thing that a lot of people don’t realise is she’s actually a really tough footballer.” In three seasons playing in the State’s best women’s competition, Fish has had to develop her game against hardened athletes, with bigger bodies and in her early days, better tanks. But each season she has risen to the challenge. “She’s given away a lot of weight and strength and age and experience (to opponents) over the last three years, there’s some very mature bodies and WAFLW is a good football competition,” Templeton said. “The amount of times that that kid gets crunched and just gets back up again and keeps playing I don’t think people write about how tough she is enough. “I think that’s part of her character she’s a very strong-minded, very self-confident young person and she’s been professional since I’ve known her she’s mature beyond her years. “She’s been a professional the whole time I’ve known her. She’s been very driven and knew at a very young age exactly what she wanted to do, and she sort of already knew what she was going to do to get there.” Despite the weight of expectation and pressure placed on Fish for a number of years leading into her draft, Templeton says she takes hardly any motivating. “It’s more just been about facilitating her journey rather than leading it, shes a very highly self motivated person,” he said. “The conversations I’ve had with Zip over the last 12 months is just trying to make sure that she enjoys football and never forgets why she plays, and that’s why I’ve always encouraged her to go for the specky marks and do the things that makes her stand out, because that’s when she’s having the most fun when you let her off the leash a little bit.” There are four Sharks players — Fish, Taya Chambers, Tash Entwistle and Tiani Teakle — tipped to find new homes on Monday night. “I’ll definitely miss her, and all of the girls that get picked up - one half your place is a smile and and the other half you’ve got a tear in the eye,” Templeton said. “Of course you are overwhelmingly happy to see the young people achieve things like that but it’s that day to day. “Zippy is one of those players that can give me a give me a little bit of a razz and stir me up a bit and get a laugh and they become mates after a while and it sort of sucks that you don’t get to see your mates three times a week anymore.”