2026 AFL Draft

[ajGreen]

They traded up before we nabbed our pick 5 though and didn’t give up much to get there. They may have another player in mind but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t take the opportunity to draft HVH if we tried to be cute and take one of the smalls first.

Since we have 2 picks, I think we’re way better placed to take the “risk” of picking HVH as we’ll still have another to pick another target. I say risk because it’s not traditional to take a ruck that high but now that it looks to happen in b2b drafts maybe it is becoming common place. Imo he’s no bigger risk than any other player, it’s just about the worth of a ruckman.

If we are assuming the bombers take Drever, then what’s left from the consensus top contingent are a ruck (which we need) and hybrid fwd/def mids (of which we have plenty). I just wouldn’t understand the strategy of taking the risk and going one of Butler/Tex/Mellody first which risks missing out on HVH when one of those 3 will 100% still be available at our next pick.

I think your right end of the day there are all sorts of different types that we need. kpf, Mid, HB, General fwd, Wing,  and young Ruck.
Seems they have cut in a way to take HVH.

Its about who we take at pick 7.

What i find interesting is who do you rate a better player and pick Drever or Walker to me that should be Essendons dilemma.


P/A have Cochrane covered so why bid on him when you can bid on Walker who you can actually get.

KPF ? We drafted 2 at the first round and Sims also they all need time to develop and no injuries.Maybe one later in the draft developing
Wings I think we're sorted the Geelong lad and Freo kid we brought in.
Alger is the Gfwd with Peuker and Campbell
Midfielders and HBF yes who can kick the footy ?

I never ever come from the perspective of just looking at the senior team. I look at what the right number for the list is with the following in mind.
 Copying what we do in the seniors, depth, competition from below and succession Imo the number is 6.
We are down to 5, Lynch has one year most likely, Fawcett is gone and needs to be replaced, Lefau is a fill in.
 It only leaves Faull, Armstrong and Sims. My money is on at least one of them being a bust.

Imo taking a kpf is more important than what people think.


Wright is a good fit for us and we could do with another either mature or junior to go with him imo. he starts in front of Lefau and would be an instant upgrade he actually covers the loss of Fawcett and had a far better year than  the three kids we have.
I think  38 goals and a shedload of marks against men  has him in front of all three imo and he certainly brings pressure for spots.

Yet you have a very childish way of looking at it.

The vfl side doesn't need to be an exact replication of the senior team.

For example sonsie did not play mid at afl level last season.

 if it means we are actually attempting to do in the reserves  what we do in the seniors.
yep if thats childish ill take it every day of the week Doesnt that allow for smooth transition between the two teams coming into a similar structure that we want to play with, yep its really childish to attempt to do this..

If building an actual succession plan and having players at various stages of develop that allows an actual  succession is childish then i will take it.

If building depth in each area of the list is childish yep im gunna take it.

If building competition from below and putting pressure on incumbent players is childish then yep you guessed it im happy.

Thats your problem you never ever seem capable of grasping good old common sense.

I take it your not interested in maintaining decent numbers that would allow the above to happen probably because you have nfi and resent anyone who has an opinion on it.
Cmon put up a plan that will enable us to do the above.


heres a little bit of help you obviously need it.

6 KPF
6 kPD
4 Rucks

12 - 14 mids
4 wings

6 General defenders
6 general forwards

Oh and it doest have to be exact because the thing you lack, common sense says so. It would be a good starting point for ya though you know a good guide.

Lets see what you come up with this will be a fun watch.

My money is on your happy to leave it alone nfi main reason but   your mostly  content sitting back with the cheap shots.
Always ready to have a go at those who come up with a plan but only ever happy to take cheap digs without putting up your self.

Cmon big shot lets see how you think the list should be structured and why.

The club will be hoping there is five. 20 years old and younger. Future 'A grade' mids in the best 23.

Cumming.
Grlj.
Lalor.
Smillie.
Hotton.

Then there is McAullife at 21.

If it goes as planned , there will not be a 'smooth transition' any time soon for that part of the field.

If you take the last draft crop alone NRT and Burton are utilities.  Peucker is a midfielder option.

Yes we need to increase quality and depth  generally but you have an overly rigid view.

[one-eyed]

Vic Preseason Testing:
20m sprint
Arki = 2.910
Gus = 3.064

Agility
Arki = 8.086
Gus = 8.063

Running Vert
Arki = 89cm
Gus = 81cm

Arki better athlete and better footballer

Don't stuff this up Richmond

https://x.com/MaybeTigerWooda/status/2112686711767794110

[one-eyed]

Ethan Drever was a Bombers fan before he could even crawl.

“It’d probably mean a little bit more than any other club to get picked up by them, especially. But hopefully I just get my name called out at the end of the day.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/draft/afl-draft-2026-lifelong-bombers-fan-ethan-drever-has-essendon-interest-profile-vic-country-stats/news-story/33f35300b18e6e7a144b30872e99e10a

[one-eyed]

Richmond, which hold picks No.2 and 5, is set to use two more selections at the draft for a total of four...

How many picks your club is set to use at the 2026 AFL Draft - https://www.afl.com.au/news/1634339

[the claw]

Goods news in regards to daffy and Leys.

For once i agree. Still i would have prefered they actually got rid of the hack HRS and gave Leys a go in his place on a wing.

[the claw]

Very disappointing if we only end up useing 4 nd picks in this draft.

I will as usual put it on the line and suggest we have used the wrong strategy on this occasion.

A nice deep draft, Way too many to still cull and a compromised draft or two coming.

As i have been saying all year 8 or so in the nd, cull 10 -12 a few state league types a f/a the odd trade. so many ways we could have cut hard and filled the list.

Yet here we are unable to even cut Ralphsmith and Rioli with just 4nd picks and hardly a peep out of anyone.

[TigerLand]

Keeping Clarke is fine, id have delisted Hugo and Burton. Go in with 6 picks.

We also have pick 2 in Pre Season draft so wondering if we will explore that at all.

[Tiger Khosh]

Delisting Burton wouldn’t have allowed an extra ND pick as he’s on the rookie list.

It was Hugo and MRJ who would have opened up the extra spots had they been delisted.

[Damo]

Delisting Burton wouldn’t have allowed an extra ND pick as he’s on the rookie list.

It was Hugo and MRJ who would have opened up the extra spots had they been delisted.

Slow up TK

Let’s all make it up as we go

[one-eyed]

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

The Trade Period is over, which means clubs now have their eyes fully focused on this year's Telstra AFL Draft.

And with four weeks to go, here is our October Phantom Form Guide.

A very even crop from the early stages of the pool means there will be plenty of healthy debate and different views after the early stages of the ranking, but clubs do have confidence they will select some quality prospects deeper into the top-30.

Remember this is a ranking and not a mock draft – the Phantom Draft, including where bids may come and which clubs will take certain players, will be released in the week leading up to November's draft.


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
5. Heath Mellody                   27/07/2008    184cm    Defender/Midfielder    Claremont/Western Australia
6. Gus Teixiera                      29/03/2008    181cm    Midfielder                  Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro
7. Harry Van Hattum             01/07/2008    205cm      Ruck                        Northern Knights/Vic Metro 
8. Ethan Matthews                04/09/2008    185cm     Midfielder                  GWS Academy/Allies
9. Mitch Harris                      01/07/2008    196cm    Key Defender             Woodville-West Torrens/SA
10. Caylen Murray                 03/01/2008    183cm     Midfielder/Defender    Brisbane Academy/Allies
11. Wil Malady                      12/10/2008    190cm     Forward                    Gippsland Power/Vic Country
12. Leo Steed                       07/03/2008    176cm     Midfielder                  Swan Districts/Western Australia
13. Clancy Snell                    21/08/2008    196cm     Key Defender             Gippsland Power/Vic Country
14. Sam Gayfer                     21/05/2008    194cm     Key Forward              Northern Knights/Vic Metro
15. Lochie Burrows                11/04/2008    181cm     Midfielder/Defender    Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro (+1)
16. Tyson Bradley                  16/09/2008    195cm     Key Defender             Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro (-1)
17. Toby Krasna                    28/02/2008     181cm     Midfielder                  Northern Knights/Vic Metro
18. Jackson Phillips                30/01/2008    182cm     Midfielder                  Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Country
19. George Dimer                  21/06/2008    173cm     Small Forward           Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro
20. Harvie Cooke                   12/04/2008    176cm     Midfielder                  Vic Metro/Northern Knights (1)
21. Khaled El Souki                04/07/2008    175cm     Small Forward           Western Jets/Vic Metro (-1)
22. Noah Williams                 22/01/2008    177cm     Midfielder                  Geelong Falcons/Vic Country
23. Jack Pickett                     06/03/2008    194cm     Tall Forward               Geelong Falcons/Vic Country
24. Jack Eime                       29/07/2008     183cm     Defender                   Central District/South Australia (+2)
25. Albert MacGowen             27/07/2008    187cm     Midfielder                  Vic Metro/Sandringham Dragons
26. George Gale                    06/09/2008     190cm     Midfielder                 Claremont/Western Australia (+1)
27. Billy Wigmore                 29/03/2008     188cm     Defender                   Vic Metro/Western Jets (+2)
28. Archie Elliott                   08/10/2008     183cm     Forward                    Vic Country/GWV Rebels (new)
29. Kodah Edwards               25/07/2008     183cm     Midfielder/Forward     South Adelaide/South Australia (-5)
30. Keenan Boi                     11/03/2008     179cm     Forward                    Vic Country/Gippsland Power


Dropped out of Top 30 since September

Gabe Patterson               26/03/2008     184cm     Forward                    South Australia/Glenelg (-3)
Marlon Neocleous            26/02/2008     168cm     Small Forward           Gippsland Power/Vic Country (-1)

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/1633149

[one-eyed]

First-round chance emerges, ‘freak’ forward… and self-nominated ‘bolter’ — Draft’s big risers revealed

Ben Waterworth and Jack Jovanovski
Fox Sports
October 22nd, 2026

Northern Knights teammate and good friend Harry Van Hattum had no hesitation nominating Harvie Cooke as his 2026 draft riser.

“He’s finally getting some recognition now,” Van Hattum told foxfooty.com.au.

“Over the past couple of years he’d never made Metro or summer hub or any of those teams. He’s ticked every box he could’ve ticked this year and he’s coming at the right time of the year. I’d take him pretty high.

“He’s one of my best mates and I’ve seen the work he puts in behind the scenes over the past couple of years to get his running and craft up to that standard. It’d be insane to see him get picked up.”

At 176cm, scouts were keen to see Cooke’s work close to goal this year as that’s where he’d likely begin his AFL career should he be drafted.

Cooke was particularly impressive in his national championships campaign for Vic Metro. He kicked four goals and averaged 17.5 disposals, 7.0 marks, 6.2 score involvements and 98.9 ranking points to finish fifth in Larke Medal voting and earn Under 18 All-Australian selection.

Cooke also claimed the Morrish Medal as this year’s Talent League best and fairest, averaging 24.7 disposals, 5.9 clearances and 4.9 tackles.

At the draft combine, he finished fifth in both the 2km time trial (6:08) and agility test (7.962 seconds), as well as eighth in the running vertical jump (89cm).

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/draft/afl-draft-2026-big-bolters-revealed-harvie-cooke-among-prospects-tipped-to-rise-up-draft-boards-archie-elliott-george-dimer-xavier-ladbrook-noah-williams/news-story/712075fab7a119007e1a64e6dab2c980

[one-eyed]

Dylan Alexander joins Arki Butler on the basketball court for a game while discussing the pressures of the upcoming AFL draft. They reflect on the experiences of various prospects, navigating media attention, and how personal playing styles translate to professional expectations in the league.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-4k5uvfMVM

[one-eyed]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLpsrc_y0DA


A rumour in there that we are looking at trading our 2028 future first for another first rounder this year (Gold Coast's).

[one-eyed]

Draftees Anthony Long, Wil Antrobus and Harvie Cooke barrack for the Tigers.

https://x.com/zerohanger/status/2113104352042684447