One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on February 04, 2026, 11:52:42 PM
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Who has the best young guns in the AFL? Your club’s 22-and-unders ranked
By Marc McGowan
The Age
February 4, 2026
Judging which clubs have the best youngsters in the AFL is a mostly subjective exercise that could look foolish in a few months’ time.
But we have taken the challenge on again to rank the 22-and-under groups across the league (players must be born no earlier than January 1, 2004) based on top-line talent but also depth, performance and potential.
1. Brisbane
2. Gold Coast
3. North Melbourne
4. West Coast
5. Richmond
The Tigers are in the early stages of rebuilding, but there is reason to be bullish. After the exits of some experienced stars, they picked seven players in the top 30 of the 2024 draft, including powerhouse No.1 selection Sam Lalor. Richmond also selected a bunch of talls, from Jonty Faull to Luke Trainor, Harry Armstrong and Tom Sims – and all are promising. Taj Hotton flashed his potential late last year, while top-10 pick Josh Smillie has battled injuries. The Tigers went for speed and dynamism in the 2025 draft, with Sam Cumming and Sam Grlj leading their haul. Seth Campbell had a breakout 28-goal season last year.
Already a star: None.
Star upside: Armstrong, Cumming, Faull, Grlj, Hotton, Lalor.
Richmond’s 22-and-unders (18 players)
Jasper Alger, Harry Armstrong, Seth Campbell, Sam Cumming, Jonty Faull, Liam Fawcett, Steely Green, Sam Grlj, Taj Hotton, Sam Lalor, Kane McAuliffe, Zane Peucker, Patrick Retschko, Noah Roberts-Thomson, Tom Sims, Josh Smillie, Kaleb Smith, Luke Trainor.
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6. Hawthorn
7. GWS
8. St Kilda
9. Melbourne
10. Essendon
11. Adelaide
12. W.Bulldogs
13. Carlton
14. Geelong
15. Sydney
16. Port Adelaide
17. Fremantle
18. Collingwood
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/who-has-the-best-young-guns-in-the-afl-your-club-s-22-and-unders-ranked-20251201-p5njta.html