Resource 2025 AFL Draft prospects and discussion.

[Mutineer]

 

[Fud#3]

Yep. Potentially training on at Gold Coast to win a spot back

Like they need another mid!

 

[Gtowncrow]

IMO I think drafting a potential mid like Onley or Rodriguez would have been the smarter play. Nothing against Archie as he seems like a good kid but just not seeing what the appeal is, unless Filthy is going to be spending more time as our main Rick. Time will tell I guess

TT as a main ruck improves our midfield issues and our ball movement transition problems.
ROB can wrestle but after that, he really doesn't assist the team with either of those problems.

 

[LoBu]

I heard we also went very hard at Nairn after missing out on Sharp

 

[crowutopia]

long term list need

Tex retired next year and behind RT and Fog we are thin in quality

Finbar is on a one year deal
Welsh looks a bust
Toby Murray looks unlikely

Get Archie in the door now and give him the thine to develop without the pressure of playing AFL in 2026

I think Finnbar will surprise a few people

 

[crowutopia]

This Ric goes alright

 

[crowutopia]

And would have been a very good one if he had the tank for it

I second that..,

 

[crowutopia]

NATIONAL COMBINE INVITES that missed out on a list spot anywhere, some might be a chance for training as a SPP:

Tairon Ah-Mu
Oskar Ainsworth
Sam Ainsworth (AA) (SA)
Thomas Burton
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves
Louis Kellaway (SA)
Taj Murray
Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier (SA)
Isaac Waller
Wesley Walley

BOB or Take Murray thanks very much

 

[Carmo]

Don't get the writing off of Welsh (though I really should because that's all that happens in here).
He shows glimpses of freak AFL attributes, fast on the lead, good leap, good grab, good in traffic and especially a good kick. Even if he overcomes his fitness issues this off-season I still doubt he's that ready because he seems immature and not like someone who'll sit and study set plays. That'll delay him another year or two.

 

[Golumless]

Getting marsh , ahchee , cotton and ludowyke for 23 and 49 while losing no one is vanilla ?

Hardly

Also glad didn’t just draft a mid for sake of it , no point having multiple Berry level mids

Hopefully get one next year draft / trade

Firmly disagree. It's a pretty vanilla trade/draft period from us at this point, though Ah Chee being obtained for free due to Brisbane jumping the shark does add a few sprinkles.

6 delists/retirements though the only major loss was Crouch (which was unavoidable). 3 raw prospects in who have some interesting traits but none who are likely to debut in 2026 (Marsh would be an outside shot) and some outside reinforcement to the fringes of your lineup. Equally, there were currently no moves to shore up our weakness in contested midfielders (a weakness that led to us being knocked out in straight sets), which means we're relying on our current prospect pool* for that. It might be a year that ages well, but right now, vanilla seems a fair rating.

* Which is a nice way of saying Dan Curtin. The rest are either 1-3 years off (Draper/Edwards) from being ready to make a significant difference as an inside mid or not up to it.

Me too, Jack Dalton looks a player too.

Greeves will definitely surprise a few. Smart club the Hawks in taking a punt.

Very vanilla from us not taking a risk and attempting to bolster the midfield outside of a Hail Mary attempt for Sharp. Time will tell if we invite any to train-on

It's vastly more likely that Greeves will never play a game at AFL level. Well known prospects that tumble like that in the draft (especially in what was a very shallow draft) tumble because some unrectifyable red flag(s) in their game popped up.

The likely players we missed on in this draft are going to be some late bloomers whose game explodes once they're in an solid AFL system, or someone who missed large chunks of their U18 campaign. Not the prospects that stood out early and gained some reputation, because the general malaise this draft gave off is a result of how that crop were rated. The probability of all 18 clubs getting them wrong is very slim.

I think Ports reaction to even the possibility of drafting them said all that needed to be said, really.

 

[Golumless]

Don't get the writing off of Welsh (though I really should because that's all that happens in here).
He shows glimpses of freak AFL attributes, fast on the lead, good leap, good grab, good in traffic and especially a good kick. Even if he overcomes his fitness issues this off-season I still doubt he's that ready because he seems immature and not like someone who'll sit and study set plays. That'll delay him another year or two.

Welsh doesn't have another two years here. He may not even have all of next season to save his career here seeing right now, Tyler is the last person on the depth chart and we are already considering abandoning him.

He needs to get his shit together, fast and he probably needs Marsh/Ludowyke to not stand out as a forward option in their first year.

 

[Crow till I die]

All things considered, i am quite ok with this trade and draft period outcome. Marsh looks a very promising forward / wing type. Ludowyke is a project player for the longer term big key forward post and if his emotion is anything to go by at getting drafted, he will make it as a player as he seems determined. Ah Chee is a great get as he raises the floor of our side and indie cotton is another for the future. But that not only did we keep our entire 2026 draft hand, we added what could be a very early 3rd rounder to it which is a great result.

 

[Mostyn]

He left WWT in 2023 to join our SANFL set-up. Trained with us the entire season so effectively it was the same as being drafted that year. What have you seen to think he makes it or is it just wishful thinking?

That's not true.

There are limitations placed on non-drafted players around what actual interaction and training they can do with the club. It's not like you get an extra year of full training with a player before you've drafted him.

 

[Mutineer]

Don't get the writing off of Welsh (though I really should because that's all that happens in here).
He shows glimpses of freak AFL attributes, fast on the lead, good leap, good grab, good in traffic and especially a good kick. Even if he overcomes his fitness issues this off-season I still doubt he's that ready because he seems immature and not like someone who'll sit and study set plays. That'll delay him another year or two.

I'm not seeing it sadly with Welsh, thought he was a chance but he's been really underwhelming to my eye. Has to make big headway this season or it's unlikely he gets another contract even on the rookie list.

 

[BRL121]

I'm not seeing it sadly with Welsh, thought he was a chance but he's been really underwhelming to my eye. Has to make big headway this season or it's unlikely he gets another contract even on the rookie list.

I agree. I think the indication will be how big his gut is when he comes back to training this year.
I was the first to criticise this last year, but was impressed how Burgess bullied him into getting rid of it during the season.

Like you, my big worry was that his actual footballing didn't improve after trimming down. It has all the hallmarks of the under-age hulk bully who can't cut it against men, but we have to give him this year to find out, I think.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I'm not seeing it sadly with Welsh, thought he was a chance but he's been really underwhelming to my eye. Has to make big headway this season or it's unlikely he gets another contract even on the rookie list.

Yes, this is is Welsh's make or break year... particularly given how many forwards we have brought in this off season.

He should be buddying up to someone like Keays & upping his training standards to leave no stone unturned.

 

[steve9798]

I think Finnbar will surprise a few people

If he plays more than 5 games we’re having a bad year.

 

[Carmo]

Are we watching the same player here with Welsh? What do you want to see from the guy, I assume its like a 30 goal season or 25 disposal a game or something like that??

Some stats to put his 2025 sanfl season in context

Player, Games, Goals, Disposals per Game
Burgess, 18, 56, 11.9
Cook, 16, 27, 13.6
Strachan, 14, 20, 13.6
Nank, 14, 16, 19.6
Dowling, 17, 16, 22.4
Drury, 19, 14, 18.8
Pedlar, 9, 12, 17.0
Gallagher, 17, 12, 8.5
Welsh, 13, 10, 6.5

2024 season high goalkickers: Gollant 29, Burgess 25, Murray 17, Gallagher 13, Welsh 10 (5 of the 10 came in one game)
2023 season high goalkickers: Gollant 42, Newchurch 28, Wright 21, Cook 19, Himmelberg 18
2022 season high goalkickers: Wright 35, Gollant 28, Newchurch 26, Macasey and Himmelberg 19

When you consider Welsh was playing fourth string forward behind Burgess, Murray, Strachan and Cook and considering the time in the system of a lot of those other guys that led our goal kicking this year Welsh was ok to good. If you look at his disposals per game which is incredibly low, if he can double that to 12 per game I reckon he'd start to get into the 20-30 goals per year depending on how many games he plays which is where the majority of our good forwards have been playing at. He loses Strachan and Burgess this year but will get Maley and Ludowyke back again so he'll still be down the list a bit. Most people would've considered Nank to have a pretty good year in the SANFL and he was only 6 goals further in front of Welsh. Anyway, we shall see.

 

[Mutineer]

Are we watching the same player here with Welsh? What do you want to see from the guy, I assume its like a 30 goal season or 25 disposal a game or something like that??

Some stats to put his 2025 sanfl season in context

Player, Games, Goals, Disposals per Game
Burgess, 18, 56, 11.9
Cook, 16, 27, 13.6
Strachan, 14, 20, 13.6
Nank, 14, 16, 19.6
Dowling, 17, 16, 22.4
Drury, 19, 14, 18.8
Pedlar, 9, 12, 17.0
Gallagher, 17, 12, 8.5
Welsh, 13, 10, 6.5

2024 season high goalkickers: Gollant 29, Burgess 25, Murray 17, Gallagher 13, Welsh 10 (5 of the 10 came in one game)
2023 season high goalkickers: Gollant 42, Newchurch 28, Wright 21, Cook 19, Himmelberg 18
2022 season high goalkickers: Wright 35, Gollant 28, Newchurch 26, Macasey and Himmelberg 19

When you consider Welsh was playing fourth string forward behind Burgess, Murray, Strachan and Cook and considering the time in the system of a lot of those other guys that led our goal kicking this year Welsh was ok to good. If you look at his disposals per game which is incredibly low, if he can double that to 12 per game I reckon he'd start to get into the 20-30 goals per year depending on how many games he plays which is where the majority of our good forwards have been playing at. He loses Strachan and Burgess this year but will get Maley and Ludowyke back again so he'll still be down the list a bit. Most people would've considered Nank to have a pretty good year in the SANFL and he was only 6 goals further in front of Welsh. Anyway, we shall see.

Not a hill I'd choose to die on.

 

[Peter Doherty]

Not a hill I'd choose to die on.

Is there even anyone planting their flag on the Welsh hill?

All I've seen is people saying he deserves more than a year and others who are already writing him off.

 

[GreyCrow]

Are we watching the same player here with Welsh? What do you want to see from the guy, I assume its like a 30 goal season or 25 disposal a game or something like that??

No . I want to see a commitment to the club and the game. The stats can come later

He has a perfect opportunity and he needs to decide if its for him

As noted if he comes back for pre-season training in better shape then great lets assess

 

[Mutineer]

Is there even anyone planting their flag on the Welsh hill?

All I've seen is people saying he deserves more than a year and others who are already writing him off.

Carmo seems to be given he's posted on Welsh several times.

 

[Peter Doherty]

Carmo are you saying Welsh is going to make it, or are you saying he deserves more than 1 year?

 

[whitey_1975]

What's the knock on Kellaway?

 

[Mutineer]

What's the knock on Kellaway?

Reasonably quick and agile, decent endurance, tidy kick, clean hands inside.....Probably hurt factor is where recruiters mark him down.