There were no surprises in the top picks, with the Cats also taking Sophie Van De Heuvel at No.2 and Maddie Prespakis going to Carlton with the No.3 selection.

Morrison, a hard-running outside midfielder, was widely-tipped to go to the Cats in the expansion club's first draft.

But the 17-year-old from the Geelong Falcons said she did not know until her name was called.

"It's a pretty weird thing to consider - two years ago, even at the start of this year, I never thought I would be in the sort of position I am," Morrison said.

"It's a big thing to wrap my head around, but I'm sure I will get there.

"I'm super-excited and can't wait to get into pre-season ... just get stuck into it."

After growing up with sports such as swimming and soccer, Morrison was encouraged by her father to go to an AFLW tryout day two years ago at Deakin University.

She was soon playing for the Geelong Falcons.

There had been speculation for months that Morrison, an under-18 star, would be a high draft pick.

"You just have to put it to the side a llittle bit, not take it too seriously," she said of the attention.,

"Especially earlier in the year, I just focussed on playing some good footy, working hard on my game - not read too much into it."

Under the state-based draft, Victorian players could also nominated whether they wanted to go to Geelong, metro or anywhere in the state.

Prespakis and Morrison were rated the two biggest talents in the draft.

Prespakis chose metro and that opened the way for the Blues to snare her ahead of Geelong.

Morrison and Prespakis were joint-winners of the TAC Cup's best and fairest award this season and also named the top two players of the national under-18 premiership.

It was a big day in more ways than one for GWS recruit Alyce Parker, who was taken at the end of round one with the No.12 selection.

The recruit from Thurgoona, near Albury, went from the draft to a three-hour agriculture exam for her HSC.

Adelaide recruited Danielle Ponter, the niece of Essendon great Michael Long, with pick No.48.

Carlton took Abbie Mckay at pick No.16 with the AFLW's first father-daughter selection.

Her Dad is Blues great Andrew McKay.

AFLW DRAFT FIRST-ROUND SELECTIONS

1. Geelong: Nina Morrison (Geelong Falcons, VIC)

2. Geelong: Sophie Van De Huevel (GWV Rebels, VIC)

3. Carlton: Madison Prespakis (Calder Cannons, VIC)

4. Fremantle: Jasmin Stewart (Claremont, WA)

5. Collingwood: Jordyn Allen (Dandenong Stingrays, VIC)

6. Melbourne: Tyla Hanks (Gippsland Power, VIC)

7. Geelong: Rebecca Webster (Murray Bushrangers, VIC)

8. Adelaide: Nikki Gore (South Adelaide, SA)

9. Brisbane: Paige Parker (Coorparoo, QLD)

10. Western Bulldogs: Eleanor Brown (Sandringham Dragons, VIC)

11. Collingwood: Katie Lynch (Oakleigh Chargers, VIC)

12 . Greater Western Sydney: Alyce Parker (Thurgoona Bulldogs, NSW)

Australian Associated Press