Analysis 2025 Draft watch

[Aphrodite]

 

[jooce8891]

Over the long weekend I was stuck on the couch crook watching CTL and Champs game replays. I've officially come to the conclusion that I'd like us to trade out of this draft.

For me there's only two players that genuinely excite me around our pick range and that's Grlj and Lindsay and I'm not sure either make it to our first pick. I don't think it's worth trading up using an additional first to get a Robey type despite the massive upside he displays simply because the 2026 and 2027 crops both look set to be considerably stronger drafts. If he did fall to our first however I'd take him in a heartbeat.

So aside from matching bids on Dean and Ison, I'd look to trade out into 2026 and pick up some late 30s or early 40s picks to try and pick up two of

Hugo Mikunda
Max Kondogiannis
Sam Allen
Louis Emmett
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (I suspect he slides)
Jacob Marron

These are probably the highest upside targets at that range. Allen, Mikunda and Kondogiannis aren't well known names but they're all just freakishly good athletes.

Allen in particular, unfortunately did his ACL early in the year but would be in the top % of athletes in the AFL but still has some refining to do on his skills.
41 inch vertical leap, 5:45 2km and elite agility to go with it. Get the right development into him and he could be a genuine star.

Speaking of development, our new development coach Ash Close has seen Kondogiannis and Allen up close as their coach so would know exactly what we'd be getting.

Re Allen -

“He's setting records with the GPS every week,” Close said of Allen.

“He's the best athlete I've ever seen in terms of football.

“He's outstanding with his work rate and leadership.

“We've been getting him up around the ball a bit more – he has no problems finding it and Coates League games are probably too short for him because if there was another quarter, he'd run people into the ground.

“It's exciting to think what he could do next year when he's playing 20 minutes and time on because he's a terrific athlete.

“He's got nice aerial as well so he's doing really well.”

mikunda yes pls

 

[circusdevil]

I feel like the club really needs to strongly consider trading up somehow.

If we end up just using picks 9, 11, and what we had at 22 purely to match bids for Dean and Ison only, and/or to shuffle points to match a bid for Walker next year, I’m not sure how I’d feel about that.

It would seem like the returns from TDK, Silvagni, and Curnow are being used just to secure players who arguably should have been ours anyway.

I get that a lot of this is out of our hands, especially with the AFL constantly shifting the goalposts and I’m sure there’s a bigger picture at play, but it’s hard not to feel shortchanged.

I got shot down for saying as much during trade week.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Where do you think Marron will be picked?(sounds very promising)

Is there any highlights of his season available?

No highlights available but you can watch the game replays and see him in action. Hasn't garnered any real attention on draft boards so a bit hard to say... Feel like he's far too talented to miss out entirely. Not sure...

 

[The Return of the Paf]

What's the knock on Riley Onley apart from his awkward name?

 

[ferrisb]

Probably an unknown to most, played a lot of Wing last year before graduating to the midfield this year pre ACL. His kicking and decision making needs a bit of work but he reminds me quite a bit of early days Dylan Sheil. Just electric movement when he gets the ball on the move and although he can be a bit erratic by foot he works as hard as anyone to provide an outlet option and get back to defend. At a low pick I can't think of many with more upside athletically and given his work rate on field I feel like it would be safe to assume he's a driven kid who will work his backside off to improve his flaws.

I usually don't get excited about athletes, but looks to have plenty of football ability to go with it.

Just going off highlights:

He has good hands in tight, nice reaction time and awareness of teammates
Nice leap
Kicks can look a little wobbly, but he appears to be kicking to advantage
He's got decent size/strength for an elite endurance athlete

 

[TwiggleyFanClub]

What's the knock on Riley Onley apart from his awkward name?

Won't matter when he becomes a star for us and we're all OnleyFans

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

I usually don't get excited about athletes, but looks to have plenty of football ability to go with it.

Just going off highlights:

He has good hands in tight, nice reaction time and awareness of teammates
Nice leap
Kicks can look a little wobbly, but he appears to be kicking to advantage
He's got decent size/strength for an elite endurance athlete

Vertical leap is 5cm off Leek Aleer and would top most years draft combine results which is absolutely nuts for a sub 6 minute runner.

 

[JuddgementDay]

im going into next year pretending we drafted jagga this year

Didn't we?

I can't believe how he slipped to us - best player in this weak draft!

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Next up is Hugo Mikunda

Probably my pick for the 'steals' of the draft, kids just a footballer through and through. Reminds me a lot of Brad Close in that he's an unheralded player because he doesn't have as many 'big games' in terms for 30+ disposals or 5+ goals etc... But the damage he does ball in hand may genuinely be unrivalled in this draft. Lindsay is probably a better pure kick overall but plays most of his time at half back where as Mikunda is high up the field and hitting targets in the most dangerous area of the ground. One of the highest score involvements generator in the draft despite playing limited minutes on ball. Maximum damage and creativity would probably be the best way to describe him.

In terms of why he's slid... Came off stress fractures in the back over pre season and a delayed start to the year. Didn't really get as much of a chance to show his wares compared to others. As a player while his score generating ability is fantastic, he's not much of a goal kicker himself, generally plays quite high up the field where he can use his huge tank and speed to get to dangerous areas to deliver that final kick inside 50. To me he just screams a classic Geelong pick who goes under the radar but ends up a key cog in their team like Mannagh and Miers. Certainly plays a very similar style game to both.

 

[Jimmae]

Another phantom: https://central.rookieme.com/afl/power-rankings/ed-pascoes-2025-phantom-afl-draft/

But it's extremely underdone, including teams apparently taking their academy players with available picks (hopefully just mislabelled)?

Has us matching a bid on Dean at 6 - with Richmond making 3 straight bids - Taylor rising to 14, Barker to 18, while Marsh slides to 22, Hibbens-Hargreaves to 31, then Greeves is taken at 35 by Melbourne after they bid on Ison... and BO-B at 47...

Just all over the shop, really, despite a decent - if out of order IMO - top 12.

I got shot down for saying as much during trade week.

I'm still getting pasted for it, but we'll have to get some future pick swaps in the mix to turn some heads and come away with enough to match Dean at say 8-11.

Nice leap
Kicks can look a little wobbly, but he appears to be kicking to advantage

Vertical leap is 5cm off Leek Aleer and would top most years draft combine results which is absolutely nuts for a sub 6 minute runner.

His landing technique is a solid explainer for how he wound up doing his ACL... just doesn't quite know how to come down and looked a risk every time. Felt the same way about Hotton's leap, but the remaining talent level here is not as high.

 

[GT619]

Usually a good indicator how the top 10 will look.

I'm waiting for his intel, knows what recruiters are thinking

 

[GreenPen]

Ok. Well enjoy looking for the worst possible angle on all future developments

Am I wrong though?

It’s likely we would’ve known Charlie, TDK and SOS were out the door pretty early in 2025.

Needed to work harder to be able to bring in quality talent to offset that. I don't think I'm on island in looking at things objectively, we are bringing in no talent outside of guys who were already tied to us. It's pretty disappointing.
Considering also how diabolically bad we are at the draft, need as many bites at the cherry as possible to be able to secure high end talent.


Maybe old mate here sums it up better than I.

I feel like the club really needs to strongly consider trading up somehow.

If we end up just using picks 9, 11, and what we had at 22 purely to match bids for Dean and Ison only, and/or to shuffle points to match a bid for Walker next year, I’m not sure how I’d feel about that.

It would seem like the returns from TDK, Silvagni, and Curnow are being used just to secure players who arguably should have been ours anyway.

I get that a lot of this is out of our hands, especially with the AFL constantly shifting the goalposts and I’m sure there’s a bigger picture at play, but it’s hard not to feel shortchanged.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

His landing technique is a solid explainer for how he wound up doing his ACL... just doesn't quite know how to come down and looked a risk every time. Felt the same way about Hotton's leap, but the remaining talent level here is not as high.

Once again Jim... You're not a biomechanist so I'm not sure why you're judging a players technique based off a few highlights where he was in a contested marking situation. Plus, for all we know he did his in a contest/collision just as Jagga did.

 

[Blue and Silver]

Am I wrong though?

It’s likely we would’ve known Charlie, TDK and SOS were out the door pretty early in 2025.

Needed to work harder to be able to bring in quality talent to offset that. I don't think I'm on island in looking at things objectively, we are bringing in no talent outside of guys who were already tied to us. It's pretty disappointing.
Considering also how diabolically bad we are at the draft, need as many bites at the cherry as possible to be able to secure high end talent.


Maybe old mate here sums it up better than I.

I think that there is no player we could trade up for this year that will cover these gaps, but that Cody Walker projects as potentially the no. 1 in a much better talent pool.

The answer isn't to gamble our future, but to back our team in and get better at the draft.

Also, as an aside.

You are going to be surprised how good Hayward is

 

[4flagsin5yrs]

Based on the fact we lost three top tier players to walk away with only Dean & lson would not be a great outcome, hopefully we can add another talented youngster in this draft.
lt looks like we are paying a premium price for father son players whilst the premiers Brisbane add four ready made players next year, hard to see another team getting near them in the next few years.

I don't rate either TDK or JSOS as top tier....

The former was softer than butter for 80% of this season, directly contributing to many losses.

Jack? who really knows, sidelined more often than not...

 

[4flagsin5yrs]

Over the long weekend I was stuck on the couch crook watching CTL and Champs game replays. I've officially come to the conclusion that I'd like us to trade out of this draft.

For me there's only two players that genuinely excite me around our pick range and that's Grlj and Lindsay and I'm not sure either make it to our first pick. I don't think it's worth trading up using an additional first to get a Robey type despite the massive upside he displays simply because the 2026 and 2027 crops both look set to be considerably stronger drafts. If he did fall to our first however I'd take him in a heartbeat.

So aside from matching bids on Dean and Ison, I'd look to trade out into 2026 and pick up some late 30s or early 40s picks to try and pick up two of

Hugo Mikunda
Max Kondogiannis
Sam Allen
Louis Emmett
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (I suspect he slides)
Jacob Marron

These are probably the highest upside targets at that range. Allen, Mikunda and Kondogiannis aren't well known names but they're all just freakishly good athletes.

Allen in particular, unfortunately did his ACL early in the year but would be in the top % of athletes in the AFL but still has some refining to do on his skills.
41 inch vertical leap, 5:45 2km and elite agility to go with it. Get the right development into him and he could be a genuine star.

Speaking of development, our new development coach Ash Close has seen Kondogiannis and Allen up close as their coach so would know exactly what we'd be getting.

Re Allen -

“He's setting records with the GPS every week,” Close said of Allen.

“He's the best athlete I've ever seen in terms of football.

“He's outstanding with his work rate and leadership.

“We've been getting him up around the ball a bit more – he has no problems finding it and Coates League games are probably too short for him because if there was another quarter, he'd run people into the ground.

“It's exciting to think what he could do next year when he's playing 20 minutes and time on because he's a terrific athlete.

“He's got nice aerial as well so he's doing really well.”

5.45. Wow.

 

[lukep_86]

Am I wrong though?

It’s likely we would’ve known Charlie, TDK and SOS were out the door pretty early in 2025.

Needed to work harder to be able to bring in quality talent to offset that. I don't think I'm on island in looking at things objectively, we are bringing in no talent outside of guys who were already tied to us. It's pretty disappointing.
Considering also how diabolically bad we are at the draft, need as many bites at the cherry as possible to be able to secure high end talent.


Maybe old mate here sums it up better than I.

Legit question..what else could we have done?

Players were offered ridiculous contracts that we rightly didn't match, and we got a great deal for a bloke who clearly checked out. Ainsworth, Hayward and Florent are best 22, Chesser we got for next to nothing and has a lot of potential and Reidy is a handy backup for Pitto.

GW said he wanted to add more good players, which we did. We've saved some salary cap space and have some picks to bring in another player next off season. Plus there's still a chance we can turn pick 9 and 11 into something else.

Other than Buku which by all reports was more on the Dogs than us, I think it was a really good trade period.

 

[GoBlues!]

Phantom Draft 2025

1 - WEST COAST - Willem Duursma
2 - GOLD COAST - Zeke Uwland (Bid Matched)
3 - WEST COAST - Cooper Duff-Tytler
4 - BRISBANE - Daniel Annable (Bid Matched)
5 - CARLTON - Harry Dean (Bid Matched)
6 - RICHMOND - Sullivan Robey
7 - RICHMOND - Xavier Taylor
8 - GOLD COAST - Dylan Patterson
9 - ESSENDON - Sam Cumming
10 - ESSENDON - Dyson Sharp
11 - MELBOURNE - Sam Grlj
12 - MELBOURNE - Jacob Farrow
13 - HAWTHORN - Josh Lindsay
14 - GWS - Oskar Taylor
15 - WEST COAST - Aidan Schubert
16 - WESTERN BULLDOGS - Lachlan Dovaston
17 - ADELAIDE - Jevan Phillipou
18 - GEELONG - Harley Barker
19 - ESSENDON - Adam Sweid (Bid Matched)
20 - GOLD COAST - Beau Addinsall (Bid Matched)
21 - FREMANTLE - Latrelle Pickett
22 - HAWTHORN - Mitch Marsh
23 - SYDNEY - Harry Kyle (Bid Matched)
24 - SYDNEY - Lachlan Carmichael (Bid Matched)
25 - NORTH MELBOURNE - Matthew LeRay
26 - NORTH MELBOURNE - Max Kondogiannis
27 - ESSENDON - Rory Wright
28 - CARLTON (Dean match) - Archie Ludowyke
29 - ESSENDON - Hussein El Achkar
30 - WEST COAST - Tylah Williams (Bid Matched)
31 - WESTERN BULLDOGS - Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves
32 - SYDNEY - Max King (Bid Matched)
33 - GWS - Cameron Nairn
34 - CARLTON - Jack Ison (Bid Matched)
35 - MELBOURNE - Oliver Greeves
36 - COLLINGWOOD - Zac McCarthy (Bid Matched
37 - RICHMOND - Louis Emmett
38 - GEELONG - Hugo Mikunda
39 - WEST COAST - Charlie Banfield (Crows would bid)
40 - GOLD COAST - Jai Murray (Bid matched)
41 - COLLINGWOOD - Blake Thredgold
42 - ST KILDA - Kye Fincher (Bid Matched)
43 - NORTH MELBOURNE - Jack Dalton
44 - GEELONG - Jesse Mellor (Bid matched)
45 - GOLD COAST - Koby Coulson (Bid Matched)
46 - FREMANTLE - Talor Byrne
47 - ADELAIDE - Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier
48 - PORT ADELAIDE - Zane Peucker
49 - BRISBANE - Fergus McFadyen
50 - COLLINGWOOD - Fred Rodriguez
51 - BRISBANE - Tyan Prindable
52 - COLLINGWOOD - Sam Swadling
53 - HAWTHORN - Riley Onley


Rookie Draft and Pre-Season Draft

GOLD COAST - Leon Kickett
ADELAIDE - Callum Ah Chee


WEST COAST - Hunter Holmes
RICHMOND- Louis Kellaway
MELBOURNE - Kalani White
PORT ADELAIDE - Cody Curtin
ST KILDA- Zac Harding
WESTERN BULLDOGS - Will Darcy
FREMANTLE - Oskar Ainsworth
COLLINGWOOD- Thomas McGuane
HAWTHORN - Tom Burton
ADELAIDE - Mitchell Stevens

WEST COAST- Koby Evans
ST KILDA- Avery Thomas
FREMANTLE- Marcus Krasnadamskis
HAWTHORN- Jasper Hay

HAWTHORN- Liam Hetherton


Cat B
ADELAIDE - Indy Cotton
BRISBANE- Isaac Waller
FREMANTLE- Toby Whan & Ryda Luke
GEELONG - Ben Rongdit
SYDNEY- Noah Chamberlain & Kaiden McNamara
WEST COAST- Wes Walley & Koby Evans

eDPS phantom draft has us taking Dean at 5, Archie Ludowyke at 28 and Ison at 34.

Pick 5 seems a little early for a bid on Dean but I’d still be happy with this outcome.

 

[eDPS]

eDPS phantom draft has us taking Dean at 5, Archie Ludowyke at 28 and Ison at 34.

Pick 5 seems a little early for a bid on Dean but I’d still be happy with this outcome.

It obviously won’t go this way anyway as you may trade your picks if a bid comes earlier or later than expected. Getting Ludowyke at 28 though would be very handy and shows that area of the draft still has something to offer.

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

I’m against drafting Max Kondogiannis purely because I like yelling my frustrations in Greek at the footy - and I’m not ready for the day one of them actually turns around and understands me.

 

[GoBlues!]

I’m against drafting Max Kondogiannis purely because I like yelling my frustrations in Greek at the footy - and I’m not ready for the day one of them actually turns around and understands me.

You Malaka….am I doing it right c4.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

What do you think about going for one of the brothers in the draft.
Holmes -would add pace
Darcy- Late developer who has been hidden. Will probably grow another 6 inches. Dog would probably match
Curtin -Thought he looked good against VC and has drifted from late first round

Personally not a fan of any of the three. Curtin is an interesting one and could end up a steal but he appears to be more manchild than anything else. Most of his goals come from simply outmuscling his opponents which doesn't tend to bode well at the next level where you're up against man mountains like Weitering and Andrews etc.

Holmes disposal is shocking, Darcy would go undrafted if his brother wasn't Sam imo. If he follows a similar path and shoots up another 13-15cm then who knows what will happen. Right now he's just a skinny and rather weak KPP who plays more like an oversized flanker.

 

[ferrisb]

Next up is Hugo Mikunda

Probably my pick for the 'steals' of the draft, kids just a footballer through and through. Reminds me a lot of Brad Close in that he's an unheralded player because he doesn't have as many 'big games' in terms for 30+ disposals or 5+ goals etc... But the damage he does ball in hand may genuinely be unrivalled in this draft. Lindsay is probably a better pure kick overall but plays most of his time at half back where as Mikunda is high up the field and hitting targets in the most dangerous area of the ground. One of the highest score involvements generator in the draft despite playing limited minutes on ball. would probably be the best way to describe him.

In terms of why he's slid... Came off stress fractures in the back over pre season and a delayed start to the year. Didn't really get as much of a chance to show his wares compared to others. As a player while his score generating ability is fantastic, he's not much of a goal kicker himself, generally plays quite high up the field where he can use his huge tank and speed to get to dangerous areas to deliver that final kick inside 50. To me he just screams a classic Geelong pick who goes under the radar but ends up a key cog in their team like Mannagh and Miers. Certainly plays a very similar style game to both.

I'm a bit obsessed with Gryan Miers style goal assist/facilitator types.

Hugo sounds like mi kunda player!

 

[GoBlues!]

I'm a bit obsessed with Gryan Miers style goal assist/facilitator types.

Hugo sounds like mi kunda player!

I keep thinking Lion King when I see his name.

You say Mikunda Hatata I say Hakuna Matata…. potato, potata.

 

[jooce8891]

Next up is Hugo Mikunda

Probably my pick for the 'steals' of the draft, kids just a footballer through and through. Reminds me a lot of Brad Close in that he's an unheralded player because he doesn't have as many 'big games' in terms for 30+ disposals or 5+ goals etc... But the damage he does ball in hand may genuinely be unrivalled in this draft. Lindsay is probably a better pure kick overall but plays most of his time at half back where as Mikunda is high up the field and hitting targets in the most dangerous area of the ground. One of the highest score involvements generator in the draft despite playing limited minutes on ball. Maximum damage and creativity would probably be the best way to describe him.

In terms of why he's slid... Came off stress fractures in the back over pre season and a delayed start to the year. Didn't really get as much of a chance to show his wares compared to others. As a player while his score generating ability is fantastic, he's not much of a goal kicker himself, generally plays quite high up the field where he can use his huge tank and speed to get to dangerous areas to deliver that final kick inside 50. To me he just screams a classic Geelong pick who goes under the radar but ends up a key cog in their team like Mannagh and Miers. Certainly plays a very similar style game to both.

this mikunda kid will be picked up by geelong and turned into a gun no doubt

from july lol