These are the players Dons and Tigers will be eyeing first in the draftJake Niall
The Age
July 7, 2026For Essendon and Richmond, the clubs that appear locks for picks one and two in the national draft, there may not be standout choices when they have their first selections in November.
The Bombers, who are in pole position for pick one ahead of the Tigers (who still have a worse percentage), will not have access to what recruiters say is the standout No.1 prospect, forward/midfielder Dougie Cochrane (tied to Port Adelaide), or his main rival Cody Walker, the midfielder and father-son recruit who will cost Carlton two first round choices – and possibly more, as the Blues climb the ladder under Josh Fraser.
Six experienced club recruiters consulted by this masthead nominated ruckman Harry Van Hattum of the Northern Knights as the most obvious selection for either Essendon or Richmond as the first “live” choice. It is all but assumed that Cochrane and Walker will attract bids at pick one and probably pick two.
But Van Hattum did not stand apart from the pack in the manner of Cochrane, according to most of those half dozen club scouts, speaking anonymously, who all felt the top picks in the draft were “even” and that clubs would have different rankings among the top half dozen.
Sandringham Dragons pair Gus Teixeira and Arki Butler – both talented small forwards who can take turns in the midfield – were universally mentioned as contenders for the top few picks, but neither were considered certainties.
The same applied to a host of players mentioned by the recruiters, such as Ethan Drever from the Greater Western Victoria Rebels (Ballarat), a running midfielder/flanker; Wil Malady, a talented 190 centimetre third forward from Gippsland Power; and Noah Williams, a Geelong Falcons midfielder (177cm).
Western Australia’s most highly rated, according to the scouts, were Heath Mellody, a defender/midfielder from East Perth, and midfielder/forward Leo Steed, who is quick and clever, but also small at 176cm.
But the recruiters noted that while there was talent in the first 20 – one recruiter felt there was a decent cohort of 30 or so players in the draft pool – the top end of the draft contained few “pure midfielders”.
Van Hattum, while the most obvious candidate to be the first name called out by Essendon or Richmond as the first live choice (behind Cochrane and potentially Walker), has not shown his best during the national under 18s for Victoria Metro as yet. “His championships haven’t been that good,” said one recruiter.
Van Hattum’s physical tools are, in part, what have been ranked at or near the top. He is 205cm, with exceptional agility and a running vertical leap that was measured at 103cm in testing during March this year; this was “up with [former Eagles star Nic] Naitanui,” said a veteran scout, who likened Van Hattum to Fremantle’s Luke Jackson athletically. “There’s no one else in the country like him.”
Van Hattum had recorded a 20-metre sprint of 3.01 and 8.29 in the agility test, excellent results for a mid-sized player, let alone a ruckman, the scout said. Van Hattum’s marking, not yet prolific or consistent, would improve over time, in the manner of Jackson, he added.
Another recruiter put Van Hattum second after Cochrane, but felt that the club that took him should not expect too much early, though he should play regularly in his second season. If Essendon did not want him, he would represent a missing piece for the Tigers, he said.
Van Hattum’s modest championships meant he was eclipsed by Benji van Rooyen (203cm), the brother of Melbourne’s emerging key forward Jacob, in Metro’s recent game against WA. But some scouts felt the Victorian teen’s production had been hampered by playing at a lower standard for Ivanhoe Grammar in the Victorian Associated Grammar Schools competition, not just the stronger Talent League.
Teixeira was likened in playing style to the larger Jordan De Goey (who attended the same school, St Kevin’s) as a forward-mid with power and goal sense. The same scout saw a touch of another skilful (ex-) Magpie, Alan Didak, in Butler, who was viewed as a highly talented player who wasn’t metronomic in output, but had risen for bigger occasions.
Teixeira (four goals, 20 disposals) and Butler (2.2 and 15) stood out in Victoria Metro’s comprehensive victory over the Allies on June 28. Neither is tall, at 181 and 182cm respectively.
Drever, taller at 188cm, was described as more of a transition running player.
While the Bombers and Tigers will miss on arguably the pair who would be picked first (Cochrane, a Next Generation academy recruit, was universally seen as No.1) and second (some would take Walker there, others wouldn’t), the AFL has introduced a rule that will see those clubs and the whole bottom five teams compensated with an additional end-of-first-round selection.
The even nature of the draft pool meant if the top handful were subject to debate, there might be value in the mid to later first round. “[Pick] 12 or 13 could be as five,” said one recruiter.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/these-are-the-players-dons-and-tigers-will-be-eyeing-first-in-the-draft-20260707-p60d8p.html
