In June 2024, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced that long-time major partner Telstra had expanded its partnership with the league to become the naming rights sponsor for the AFL and AFLW drafts and both competitions' Rising Star awards from 2024 onwards.
[2] In August, AFLW general manager Emma Moore announced that the girls' draft combine would also become a national event for the first time, having previously been staged only as state-based events, and would be held in Melbourne in October on the same weekend as the boys' combine.
[4] The national draft took place during the 2024–25 AFL Women's player movement period, which began in November 2024 and runs until March 2025;[5] the event was held on 16 December at Marvel Stadium and broadcast on afl.com.au and the official AFL app.
[6] In the week leading up to the draft, experts from afl.com.au,[7] The Age[8] and Fox Sports considered Gippsland Power midfielder Ash Centra the favourite to be taken by Collingwood with the first selection;[9] the Herald Sun reported the day before the draft that Collingwood had already settled on Centra for the selection,[10] with Collingwood confirming the selection the following night at the draft.
[11] The order of selections for the national draft was finalised on 11 December, at the conclusion of the 2024 trade period.