AFL Draft: 10 of the leading prospects for 2026Jonty Ralphsmith
Zerohanger.com
24 Nov 2025Craft of the Draft has named the 10 best players to watch next season, as well as a series of others on the precipice.
Worth a mention: Athletic defender
Darcy Szerszyn and his Dandenong Stingrays teammate
Gus Kennedy are both highly regarded after impressive 2025 campaigns. Key defender
Tate Hodgson was included in the AFL Academy squad despite not playing a game this year due to stress fractures, highlighting where he sits, while midfielder
Cody Templeton and Essendon NGA prospect
Blake Justice are other Victorians worth tracking. Defender
Kale Matthews-Hampton and midfielder
Archie Van Dyk are among the best South Australians, while key-position player
Benji van Rooyen and livewire
Koby Lecras are among the best openly available Western Australians. Of the club-tied talent, West Coast NGA prospect
Garrison Kenh put himself on the map in the U17s Futures Game as a dynamic half-back, Fremantle NGA
Lucas Robinson is highly regarded as an inside midfielder, while Brisbane-tied
Caylen Murray and Gold Coast Academy rebounder
Archie Hill are others who are touted.
Early word on the 2026 draft class: Headlines will be rampant again about the compromised nature of the draft if the two headline names for 2026 continue on their current trajectory, which has them on course to be top five selections. Both players are the face of draft class, but the best openly available talent remains quite open. There are several talls at the pointy end which will be intriguing to track given key-position talent has slipped down the order in recent years due to the lower strike rate. Word in the industry is that the 2026 class is stronger than the 2025 crop, but given we are 12 months out, so much can change. All four northern clubs have one player in the AFL Academy, with Carlton, Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, West Coast, Fremantle and Essendon other clubs which have a well-regarded club-tied talent.
Early Top 10Cody Walker (Bendigo Pioneers)
Dougie Cochrane (Central District)
Lewis Houndsome (Northern Knights)
Marlon Neocleous (Gippsland Power)
Gabe Patterson (Glenelg)
Arki Butler (Sandringham Dragons)Jack Pickett (Geelong Falcons)The Geelong Falcons key forward kicked 30 goals across eight games in the Coates Talent League in 2025, stunningly only failing to kick multiple majors twice, with a game-high bag of seven.
He also fit in eight games for Geelong Grammar, kicking 25 goals, and managed two appearances for Vic Country as a bottom-ager.
Mobile, athletic and aerially sound, he's the perfect package for a modern-day key forward.
Noah Williams (Geelong Falcons)The hard-running Geelong Falcons prospect announced himself in the AFL Futures Game, where he took out best afield honours, impressing with his incisive kicking and work rate.
Has a high footy IQ and chains the ball well in transition.
Played 10 games for Geelong Falcons and Vic Country's last game of the U18s National Championships on the wing.
Aidan McCartney (Sydney Academy)McCartney will have a decision to make next year about whether to nominate as a father-son for North Melbourne, where dad Jason played 109 of his 182 games, or Sydney, which has developed him through the talent pathway as part of its Academy.
A modern-day key forward who still has some growth remaining, McCartney's hands above his head are sound.
He leads up and covers the ground well and has the athletic traits needed to succeed.
Heath Mellody (Claremont)Mellody slices and dices his way through opposition teams with his punishing ball use and willingness to take the game on off both feet out of the backline.
Was a key member of Claremont's U18s premiership side this year, and as well as his ball use, he plays taller than his listed 181cm height.
Still has some filling out to do, but is already showing what he can do.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/afl/afl-draft-10-of-the-leading-prospects-for-2026/ar-AA1R09ws
