Misplaced Pages

Brooke Lochland
Lochland playing for the Western Bulldogs' VFLW team in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Brooke Lochland
Date of birth	(1991-05-03) 3 May 1991 (age 33)
Original team(s)	Melbourne University (VFLW)
Draft	No. 53, 2016 national draft
Debut	Round 1, 2017, Western Bulldogs vs. Fremantle, at VU Whitten Oval
Height	159 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder / forward
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2017–2022 (S6)	Western Bulldogs	35 (18)
2022 (S7)−2024	Sydney	20 0(9)
Total		55 (27)
Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2024 season.
Career highlights
AFL Women's premiership player: 2018 Sydney co-captain: 2022 (S7) AFL Women's leading goalkicker: 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2018 Western Bulldogs leading goalkicker: 2018 Sydney leading goalkicker: 2022 (S7)
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Brooke Lochland (born 3 May 1991) is a former Australian rules footballer and former speed skater. Lochland played for the Western Bulldogs and the Sydney Swans in the AFL Women's (AFLW). In 2018, she played in the Bulldogs' AFL Women's premiership team, was the AFL Women's leading goalkicker for that season and was named in the 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team.

Early life

Lochland took up inline skating at age four and competed in world championships as a teenager. At age 16, she moved to the Netherlands to pursue a career as a long track speed skater. Despite finishing sixth in the 2011–12 World Cup mass start event, she missed out on qualifying for the Sochi Winter Olympics and retired from the sport in 2014. Upon returning to Australia later that year, Lochland switched back to football, having previously played as a junior. After two impressive seasons with Montmorency, highlighted by winning the best and fairest award for Division Two of the Victorian Women's Football League in 2015, she joined Melbourne University in the VFL Women's competition for the 2016 season.

AFL Women's career

Lochland was drafted by the Western Bulldogs with their seventh selection and 53rd overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the 32-point win against Fremantle at VU Whitten Oval in the opening round of the 2017 season. She played every match in her debut season to finish with seven games.

In 2018, Lochland kicked seven goals during the Bulldogs' 73-point round four defeat of Carlton, the most by an AFLW player in a single match. She finished the home-and-away season with twelve goals from seven matches, clinching the AFLW leading goalkicker award for the year. She would share in team success when the Western Bulldogs went on to win the premiership by defeating Brisbane in the Grand Final at Ikon Park, as well as gaining more individual recognition via selection in the All-Australian team.

Lochland sustained a leg injury in a 2019 practice match against Collingwood and subsequently underwent surgery to repair her fractured right fibula. After several weeks on the sideline, she recovered faster than expected in time to play the last three games of the 2019 season, returning for her club's one-point loss to Melbourne in round five at Docklands Stadium.

Ahead of the 2020 season, Lochland was appointed vice-captain of the Western Bulldogs. She regained consistent form throughout the 2021 season, playing every game possible and managing a career-high sixth-place finish in the club's best and fairest count (eclipsing her seventh-place finish in 2018). Lochland experienced an interrupted 2022 season 6, which included suffering a concussion before half-time of the round six encounter with Adelaide at Norwood Oval, forcing her to miss the remainder of the match and the following two games. She finished the season strongly, however, most notably in a 60-point round nine win against West Coast at Optus Stadium by gathering 15 disposals, laying five tackles and kicking three goals—her biggest haul since the record-breaking performance in 2018.

In May 2022, in a signing reported on womens.afl as a "long-awaited coup for one of the competition's new teams", Lochland joined expansion club Sydney. In August, she was named one of three co-captains for the Swans' inaugural season alongside Maddy Collier and Lauren Szigeti. She went on to play all 10 games in season 7 and become Sydney's first AFLW leading goalkicker, including booting three goals in the first quarter against Hawthorn in round 5. She finished fourth in the Swans' Club Champion award.

Lochland continued to be a regular in the Swans' forward line in 2023 despite missing two games due to a knee injury, playing 10 games as the side reached its maiden finals series. She played her 50th AFLW game in round 5 against Carlton.

Lochland also works as a coach in the Sydney Swans Academy female program.

Statistics

Updated to the end 2022 season 7.

Honours and achievements

Team

• AFL Women's premiership player (Western Bulldogs): 2018
• AFL Women's minor premiership (Western Bulldogs): 2018

Individual

• Sydney co-captain: 2022 (S7)–present
• AFL Women's leading goalkicker: 2018
• AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2018
• Western Bulldogs leading goalkicker: 2018
• Sydney leading goalkicker: 2022 (S7)

References

1. "Triple Threat — Brooke Lochland". AFLPA. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
2. "Essent ISU World Cup Mass Start Ladies". 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
3. "VWFL Presentation night winners - Victorian Womens Football League". GameDay. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
4. "Star ice-skater makes instant impact in women's footy". afl.com.au. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
5. "Lambert top pick, 19 added to women's team". WesternBulldogs.com.au. Bigpond. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
6. "AFLW Teams Round 1: Full sides named for inaugural round of AFL Women's competition". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
7. "Brooke Lochland". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
8. "Breakout Dog destroys Blues". AFL.com.au. 23 February 2018.
9. "AFL WOMEN'S PREMIERSHIP SEASON - EVERY GOALKICKER". Australian Football. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
10. "Surgery for Lochland". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
11. "UPDATE: Leading goalkicker ruled out for 6-8 weeks". AFLW. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
12. Phelan, Jason (7 February 2019). "Injured Dogs star eyes quick AFLW return". The Courier. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
13. "2019 AFL Women's Match Centre: WB v MELB". AFLW. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
14. "Round six preview: Race for finals heating up in penultimate week". AFLW. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
15. "Blackburn named AFLW captain". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
16. "Blackburn claims second Bulldogs' best and fairest". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
17. "Kearney wins second AFLW Best and Fairest". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
18. "Bulldogs shock Crows in AFLW boilover". ESPN.com. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
19. "FRIDAY TEAMS: Top Dog to miss, Cats welcome back matchwinner". AFLW. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
20. "2022 AFL Womens Match Centre: WCE v WB". AFLW. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
21. Beveridge, Riley (24 May 2022). "Loch-ed in as a Swan: Sydney lures veteran flag Bulldog". AFL Women's. Telstra Media.
22. "Experienced Lochland and Dargan join Swans AFLW list". Sydney Swans. Telstra Media. 27 May 2022.
23. "Our FIRST captains announced". sydneyswans.com.au. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
24. "AFLW Match Centre". afl.com.au/aflw. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
25. "Hamilton crowned inaugural AFLW Club Champion". sydneyswans.com.au. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
26. "AFLW Team: Two changes made to face Port Adelaide". sydneyswans.com.au. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
27. "Academy Coach: Brooke Lochland". sydneyswans.com.au. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
28. "Brooke Lochland – player stats by season". Australian Football. Retrieved 5 August 2022.

External links

• Brooke Lochland's profile on the official website of the Sydney Swans
• Brooke Lochland at AustralianFootball.com
• Brooke Lochland on Instagram

• 1991 births
• Living people
• Western Bulldogs (AFLW) players
• Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
• All-Australians (AFL Women's)
• Australian female speed skaters
• Inline speed skaters
• Melbourne University Football Club (VFLW) players
• Sydney Swans (AFLW) players