September 2024 Draft Power Rankings: New No. 1 as finals bolters shake up orderJasper Chellappah
ESPN
Sep 18, 20241. Jagga Smith (August ranking: 2)Oakleigh Chargers/Vic Metro
MID, 181cm
National Champs: 4 games, 29.3 disposals, 6.8 clearances, 4.8 marks
Talent League: 12 games, 33.8 disposals, 7.9 clearances, 0.6 goals
Jagga rises to the spot he entered 2024 at -- No. 1. He's the 'can't miss' prospect of the draft, an inside midfielder with insatiable appetite for the contest. He's brilliantly creative, intelligently snaking into pockets of space and releasing outside runners before hitting the turbo to stay involved in transition. It means Smith gets a lot of the ball and attracts a lot of opposition attention. He is this draft's Zak Butters, fighting out of his weight division but never losing a bout. That includes a rich vein of form at VFL level, averaging 27 disposals and six clearances for Richmond. Smith offers huge leadership potential after captaining club and state, and has a draft range cemented inside the top five after a supremely consistent campaign.
Best traits similar to: Zak Butters
2. Sid Draper (1)South Adelaide/South Australia
MID, 182cm
2024 Champs: 4 games, 21.0 disposals, 3.8 clearances, 2.8 marks
SANFL: 6 games, 22.2 disposals, 4.7 clearances, 6.2 tackles
Draper was arguably South Adelaide's best player at SANFL level to end the season. He offered shades of Jason Horne-Francis in the Panthers guernsey when accelerating from stoppage and driving the ball deep inside 50. Draper is more of a stoppage savant than a forward-half game-changer, though, adept at winning ground balls and stepping out of congestion with explosive dash. His stoppage craft and ability to hurt the opposition in space makes Draper a safe prospect with a huge ceiling, and he's allayed any questions on defensive intent with gritty performances against men.
Best traits similar to: Chad Warner
3. Levi Ashcroft (5) - Brisbane Father-SonSandringham Dragons/Vic Metro
MID, 179cm
The Lions will snare another top talent in the younger brother of Will.
Best traits similar to: Caleb Serong
4. Finn O'Sullivan (3)Oakleigh Chargers/Vic Country
MID, 182cm
National Champs: 2 games, 11.5 disposals, 1.5 marks, 3.5 tackles
Talent League: 4 games, 17.2 disposals, 3.0 clearances, 1.2 goals
O'Sullivan endured a host of tribulations in 2024. Through injury and form slumps he's struggled to attain any consistency and his campaign ended with a disappointing preliminary final exit on the weekend. Despite it all, there's no doubt what O'Sullivan could become at the next level. He's an excellent aerialist for a midfielder and a bounding runner, covering huge ground either on-ball or off a wing. O'Sullivan loves to get forward to hit the scoreboard and offers one of the highest upsides in the draft, but it's a level that he hasn't shown for 12 months now.
Best traits similar to: Isaac Heeney
5. Leo Lombard (4) - Gold Coast Academy
SUNS Academy/Allies
MID/FWD, 178cm
Best traits similar to: Jordan De Goey
6. Sam Lalor (6)
GWV Rebels/Vic Country
MID/FWD, 187cm
National Champs: 3 games, 11.0 disposals, 5.0 marks, 1.3 goals
Talent League: 4 games, 23.0 disposals, 6.2 clearances, 5.8 marks
Lalor's season ended how it began, on the sidelines due to injury. This time it was a serious hamstring injury that will see him miss the Rebels' grand final and combine testing. Before that, Lalor was starting to show him powerful ball-winning qualities, routinely ripping the ball from stoppage, shaking defenders with a flick of his strong hips and driving the ball inside 50 with a penetrating right boot. His point of difference is his forward work in one-on-ones -- Lalor averaged a contested mark every outing as a midfielder in the CTL and 1.3 as a forward for Country. It's tough to place Lalor any higher given his lack of output and testing results, but it won't stop clubs considering in the first handful of selections.
Best traits similar to: Christian Petracca
7. Xavier Lindsay (9)Gippsland Power/Vic Country
MID, 183cm
National Champs: 3 games, 22.7 disposals, 4.3 clearances, 6.7 marks
Talent League: 12 games, 23.4 disposals, 5.4 clearances, 0.6 goals
Lindsay offers the speed, running power and kicking skills that clubs search far and wide for. He's a balanced midfielder that led from the front for Gippy all the way until a PCL injury to his knee ended his campaign prematurely. Clubs have seen enough to rate him accordingly, though. His deft touch and ball use at full tilt is a joy to watch, and he was becoming an increasingly damaging forward-half player. He may not crack the top 10 on draft night, but Lindsay is as likely as anyone in the pool to play 300 AFL games.
Best traits similar to: Josh Kelly
8. Tobie Travaglia (8 )Bendigo Pioneers/Vic Country
DEF, 187cm
National Champs: 4 games, 21.8 disposals, 6.2 marks, 8.2 intercepts
Talent League: 12 games, 23.6 disposals, 6.4 tackles, 0.9 goals
Travaglia is an obsessive competitor, able to perform in all three areas of the ground with maniacal pressure and hard running. Despite his slender frame, he became an excellent inside midfielder late in the season where he laid 6.4 crunching tackles and swooped on 4.2 hardball gets per game. He also created goals out of open play up forward. He looks most accustomed down back, though, where he was the champs' leading intercept marker and loved to dash up the ground to link play. Travaglia is a neat kick without being an elite ball user -- it's the one area of his game that could improve.
Best traits similar to: Will Day
9. Harvey Langford (10)
Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Country
MID, 190cm
National Champs: 25.5 disposals, 6.2 clearances, 6.2 marks
Talent League: 15 games, 25.9 disposals, 4.7 clearances, 1.3 goals
Langford may have claim to be the best performed prospect in the country. He took a share in the Larke Medal with Lombard and should be favourite for the CTL best and fairest, to be awarded Wednesday night. The hulking midfielder racks up the ball on the inside and outside of contest, routinely gets forward to kick goals with his booming left leg and can take big grabs around the ground. It's an enticing package that deservedly sees him getting top five consideration. But Langford also has some deficiencies -- he lacks the speed of the top rung of midfielders in these rankings and needs to trim down for the next level. There's every chance Langford becomes a top tier AFL midfielder, but it may take time.
Best traits similar to: Jordan Dawson
10. Josh Smillie (7)
Eastern Ranges/Vic Metro
MID, 194cm
National Champs: 4 games, 18.8 disposals, 5.8 clearances, 3.5 tackles
Talent League: 12 games, 25.5 disposals, 4.8 clearances, 1.3 goals
Smillie fits the new-age midfield prototype, a 6'4 contested beast equipped to dominate stoppage and punch long kicks to gain meterage. He's had patches of commanding performances where he looks simply uncontainable bullocking through contact. But he hasn't shown enough around the ground, taking just one contested mark across his 16 champs and CTL games and only using the ball at 62%. There is so much upside in what Smillie can be at the next level, but the flags are there for clubs to consider.
Best traits similar to: Tom Green
11. Harry Armstrong (13)
Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro
FWD, 195cm
National Champs: 3 games, 9.0 disposals, 5.0 marks, 3.0 goals
Talent League: 9 games, 10.1 disposals, 3.3 marks, 2.6 goals
Armstrong is close to the consensus key forward in the pool at this late stage. He's come with a rush, platforming himself at the champs where he led Vic Metro's goalkickers and showed off a clunking contested grab with routine. He's a dead-eye in front of goals too, kicking 9.3 in the champs and 23.9 in the CTL. Armstrong's school coach likens him to Jeremy Cameron with his freewheeling left boot, but Armstrong has shown limitations up the ground when ball hits the deck. His strongest trait is clearly his contested marking and it could see him taken inside the top five on draft night.
Best traits similar to: Aaron Naughton
12. Luke Trainor (11) - Best traits similar to: Jordan Ridley
13. Joe Berry (12) - Best traits similar to: Dylan Moore
14. Jobe Shanahan (16) - Best traits similar to: Jacob van Rooyen
15. Isaac Kako (15)
- Essendon NGA16. Murphy Reid (18) - Best traits similar to: Gryan Miers
17. Bo Allan (17) - Best traits similar to: Elliot Yeo
18. Taj Hotton (14) - Best traits similar to: Harry Sheezel
19. Kayle Gerreyn (21) - Best traits similar to: Riley Thilthorpe
20. Jack Whitlock (24) - Best traits similar to: Ben King
21. Alex Dodson (20) - Best traits similar to: Tim English
22. Jonty Faull (28) - Best traits similar to: Brody Mihocek
23. Alix Tauru - Best traits similar to: Ollie Henry
24. Cooper Hynes (22) - Best traits similar to: Sam Powell-Pepper
25. Hamish Davis (26) - Best traits similar to: Will Hayward
26. Jesse Dattoli - Best traits similar to: Josh Rachele
27. Ollie Hannaford - Best traits similar to: Kai Lohmann
28. Christian Moraes (19) - Best traits similar to: Elijah Hollands
29. Sam Marshall (25)
- Brisbane Academy30. James Barrat - Best traits similar to: Josh Battle
https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/41295627/afl-draft-power-rankings-september-2024-jagga-smith-levi-ashcroft-sid-draper-sam-lalor