2026 AFL Draft

[one-eyed]

Question: Who do you think the Bombers most keen on in the open pool?

Chris Cavanagh (HeraldSun): Everyone I've spoken to in recruiting circles seems to be linking the Bombers to Ethan Drever. A big-bodied mid with running power who has been likened to Finn Callaghan, he'd definitely be a good fit.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/2026-afl-draft-dossier-profiles-and-analysis-of-the-top-70-prospects/news-story/d836b327da7336d9ebac833517262a1b

[one-eyed]

Live stream of the U18s Talent League GF.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1614236

[ajGreen]

If we look at the freo blueprint; first plus grand final.

solid back 6 +  Brennan Cox & Walker currently outside of the 23.

Obviously good mids and big wings.

Yet it's the goals that is most telling:


1   J. Amiss   25   62
2   J. Treacy   26   56
3   P. Voss.      25   46
4   I. Dudley           26   32
5   L. Jackson   26   29
6   M. Frederick   21   26
7   S. Bolton   25   25
8   S. Switkowski   25   13
9   M. Reid           24   12
10   C. Serong   23   11
11   H. Young   17   10


 * Three proper key forwards who are young. 50 odd goals each.
 * Gun small forward.
 * Jackson prob the most valuable player in the league atm.
  * Bolton class mid/forward goal a game.
 * Frederick tough fast mid forward.
 * Very good players like hayden young chipping it with goals too

[one-eyed]

Gippsland won the U18s Talent League GF by 35 pts.

Gippsland Power            2.2    4.6    11.8    16.10-106
Dandenong Stingrays     3.2    5.7     8.7      10.11-71

Gippsland
Goals: Malady 5, Templeton 5, Macumber 2.
Disposals: Burgiel 29, Little 22, Hilton 19

Dandenong
Goals: Sousa 2, Sullivan 2, Toner 2
Disposals: Carroll 29, Prasad 21, Phillips 20


Winner of BOG medal:  Cody Templeton with his 5 goals.

Wil Malady kicked his 5 goals all in the second half. Broke the game open in the third with 3 goals.
Henry Allsop in the bests too at full back. Kept Dandy's FF who had had kicked 10 goals in his previous two finals to just the one goal today.

[one-eyed]

Gippsland Power skipper Cody Templeton breaking the game open in the 3rd. Has 15 and 4 and one hand on the BOG medal.

If his athletic base was higher, he'd be a top 15 selection without doubt.

----

Where do you see Malady end up position wise? Wing that drifts forward?

Tommy Wolfe: I think that's the role that will get the most out of him on a consistent basis. Has so much going for him but is so raw and up and down in performance.

Such a hard prospect to rate. High risk, high reward.

https://x.com/Tommy_Wolfe7/status/2101175707112284443

[Tommy_Wolfe7]

Xavier Ladbrook had a pretty handy day in Gippsland's Talent League Grand Final win yesterday, finishing with 17 disposals and 8 marks, including a number of strong intercept possessions.

The timing was pretty good given Ladbrook generously gave up some of his time during the week to have a chat with Reading the Play as part of our new Draft Chats series.

You can read his player profile and our Q&A covering his development, versatility and how he sees his game translating to the next level:

https://readingtheplay.wordpress.com/2026/09/19/draft-chats-2-xavier-ladbrook/

[one-eyed]

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' September ranking

The end of the road has come for draftees.

At the close of a long and demanding draft campaign for prospects around the country, this is our September Phantom Form Guide.

There is still time to sway recruiters at next month's Telstra AFL Draft Combine and with interviews ahead of the November draft, but the work on the field is now complete.

For that reason we have extended out our rankings to include the top 30 prospects in the pool. Remember this doesn't take into account where bids on father-son or Academy prospects will come – this is our take on the best players.

It will be updated twice more in the next two months before names are called late in November.

1. Dougie Cochrane               02/05/2008    195cm    Utility                        Port Adelaide/South Australia
2. Cody Walker                     26/01/2008    184cm    Midfielder                   Bendigo Pionees/Vic Country
3. Arki Butler                        23/04/2008    182cm    Forward                     Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro
4. Ethan Drever                    10/07/2008    188cm    Midfielder                   GWV Rebels/Vic Country (+2)
5. Heath Mellody                   27/07/2008    184cm    Defender/Midfielder    Claremont/Western Australia (+2)
6. Gus Teixiera                      29/03/2008    181cm    Midfielder                  Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro (-2)
7. Harry Van Hattum             01/07/2008    205cm      Ruck                        Northern Knights/Vic Metro  (-2)
8. Ethan Matthews                04/09/2008    185cm     Midfielder                  GWS Academy/Allies
9. Mitch Harris                      01/07/2008    196cm    Key Defender             Woodville-West Torrens/SA (+3)
10. Caylen Murray                 03/01/2008    183cm     Midfielder/Defender    Brisbane Academy/Allies (+4)
11. Wil Malady                      12/10/2008    190cm     Forward                    Gippsland Power/Vic Country (-1)
12. Leo Steed                       07/03/2008    176cm     Midfielder                  Swan Districts/Western Australia (-1)
13. Clancy Snell                    21/08/2008    196cm     Key Defender             Gippsland Power/Vic Country (-4)
14. Sam Gayfer                     21/05/2008    194cm     Key Forward              Northern Knights/Vic Metro (-1)
15. Tyson Bradley                  16/09/2008    195cm     Key Defender             Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro (+2)
16. Lochie Burrows                11/04/2008    181cm     Midfielder/Defender    Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro (+2)
17. Toby Krasna                    28/02/2008     181cm     Midfielder                  Northern Knights/Vic Metro (+2)
18. Jackson Phillips                30/01/2008    182cm     Midfielder                  Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Country (-3)
19. George Dimer                  21/06/2008    173cm     Small Forward           Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro (+2)
20. Khaled El Souki                04/07/2008    175cm     Small Forward           Western Jets/Vic Metro (+3)
21. Harvie Cooke                  12/04/2008    176cm     Midfielder                  Vic Metro/Northern Knights (new)
22. Noah Williams                 22/01/2008    177cm     Midfielder                  Geelong Falcons/Vic Country (-6)
23. Jack Pickett                     06/03/2008    194cm     Tall Forward               Geelong Falcons/Vic Country (-1)
24. Kodah Edwards                25/07/2008    183cm     Midfielder/Forward     South Adelaide/South Australia (-4)
25. Albert MacGowen             27/07/2008    187cm     Midfielder                  Vic Metro/Sandringham Dragons (new)
26. Jack Eime                       29/07/2008     183cm     Defender                   Central District/South Australia (-2)
27. George Gale                    06/09/2008     190cm     Midfielder                 Claremont/Western Australia (re-entered)
28. Gabe Patterson               26/03/2008     184cm     Forward                    South Australia/Glenelg (new)
29. Billy Wigmore                 29/03/2008     188cm     Defender                   Vic Metro/Western Jets (new)
30. Marlon Neocleous            26/02/2008     168cm     Small Forward           Gippsland Power/Vic Country (-5)


Dropped out of Top 30 since July

Ethan Herbert                  01/11/2008    200cm      Ruck                        North Adelaide/South Australia
Jack Slattery                   27/09/2008     192cm     Forward                    Woodville-West Torrens/SA

Full profiles here: https://www.afl.com.au/news/1613189/cal-twomeys-phantom-form-guide-top-draft-prospects-september-ranking

[one-eyed]

WAFL GF yesterday

Heath Mellody   14 disposals (7k, 7h), 3 marks, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s

George Gale     12 disposals (6k, 6h), 2 marks, 2 tackles, 2 behinds

https://wafl.com.au/match/league-peel-thunder-v-claremont-grand-final-2026

[one-eyed]

Rucks taken in the top 10 over the last 20 yrs:

2006: Leuenberger, pick 2
2007: Kreuzer, pick 1
2007: McEvoy, pick 9
2008: Naitanui, pick 2
2010: Gorringe, pick 10
2011: Longer, pick 8
2019: Luke Jackson, pick 3
2021: Mac Andrew, pick 5
2023: Ethan Read, pick 9
2025: CDT, pick 4

Some thoughts on the hit rate and on how the market for rucks has swung:

Only Leuey, Gorringe and Longer stand out as clear misses. Kreuzer gets unfair flak as a No.1 pick. The consensus had it down to him and Cotchin, and picks 3–7 were Masten, Morton, Grant, Myers and Palmer. Relative to the Board, the Kreuzer pick was fine.

After Longer in 2011, a ruck didn't go top 10 for eight years. The talent was there: Grundy (pick 18) and English (pick 19) both slid well past their projected ranges. GWS infamously bypassed Grundy with each of their five picks before the Pies took him, despite an obvious need for a tall. List managers had been spooked by the risk of taking a ruck high, and the consensus became that you could find value late.

The pendulum has since swung hard. After an eight yr drought, four rucks have gone top 10 in the last seven drafts, driven by a clear shift towards hybrid athleticism.

Freo's edge with Ljax comes as much from scarcity as from his quality. Almost no rival ruck can match his athleticism and mobility around the ground. The AFL is a copycat competition, though, so now every club wants its own Ljax.

Draft value comes from zigging when the consensus is wrong. As clubs reach early for their own athletic ruck unicorn, expect the top 10 ruck bust rate to climb back up.

https://x.com/fantasynut_afl/status/2101130082458669090

[one-eyed]

Cody Templeton - 5 Goal BOG Performance - Talent League Grand Final


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mQHthfaeUQ

[one-eyed]

WHO should Richmond take at Pick 2?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK4vm17AVaY

[one-eyed]

Tommy Wolfe's Mock Draft 2.0 is here.

No trades. No compensation picks.

Just a pure look at how the 2026 AFL Draft could unfold if clubs keep the picks they currently hold.

How does the draft look before the chaos begins?

Read it here: https://readingtheplay.wordpress.com/2026/09/21/2026-afl-mock-draft-v2-0/

Here's what he has for Richmond.

Pick #4: Richmond – Harry Van Hattum

The most tantalising package in the open pool, Van Hattum will buck the trend of rucks sliding down draft boards. Capable of unlocking a midfield group, the Tigers will build around him in their push up the ladder.
Other Options: Butler and Teixeira have forward half impact all clubs desperately want. Drever adds power, while Snell or Harris are of need.

Pick #19: Richmond – Harrison Chapman

Chapman is the upside pick at this point. While there are safer options, the Tigers will look at what could be and take the tall, outside leaning midfielder. Pace and class will support the Tigers’ list refurbishment.
Other Options: Midfield support in Edwards or Williams would help continue the engine room build, while Gayfer is a key forward option.

Pick #23: Richmond – Noah Williams

Versatile, tough and reliable, Williams could have gone much earlier than this. Starts as a half back-wing, but his contest appetite and defensive work will see him join the midfield eventually. Has serious leadership too.
Other Options: Edwards has a mid-forward game that will be hard to pass up here, while Gayfer, Slattery and Leeder are talented goal kickers.

https://readingtheplay.wordpress.com/2026/09/21/2026-afl-mock-draft-v2-0/

[Andyy]

No compensation picks, so how do we end up with 19 + 23?

[Tommy_Wolfe7]

No compensation picks, so how do we end up with 19 + 23?

The draft made use of the in draft rules as they will exist. But for the draft order there were no assumed trades of FA/Assistance compensation picks.

The idea is to show the starting point before the trade period changes everything, and provide a measuring stick for what becomes possible afterwards.

[Tiger Khosh]

No compensation picks, so how do we end up with 19 + 23?

The draft made use of the in draft rules as they will exist. But for the draft order there were no assumed trades of FA/Assistance compensation picks.

The idea is to show the starting point before the trade period changes everything, and provide a measuring stick for what becomes possible afterwards.

Based on that talent what pick do you think would be worth trading picks 19 and 23 for or do you not see much of a gap after the likes of Cochrane, walker, butler, Tex, HVH, Mellody and Drever?

Would you rather have say a pick 12 or pick 19 + 23?