List Mgmt. Draft thread - 2025 (remaining picks: 29, 34)

[Keys]

Live draft hand
R1: 1 (Duursma), 4 (CDT), 19 (Lindsay)
R2: 29, 34
RD: 1

Draft picks pre-draft
R1: 1, 2, 13
R2: 34, 41
RD: 1

List spots available
Main list: 2 (includes Duursma, CDT, Lindsay)
Cat A Rookie list: 1 (expecting Robertson, Macrae and Schoenberg to join as SSP signings)
Cat B Rookie list: 1

Draft order

Spoiler

Draft prospect video highlights (thanks to noobermensch)

Rookie Me Central 2025 Draft Guide

2025 AFL Draft Guide

online.fliphtml5.com

Matthew Clarke on Gettable 17/11

Spoiler

Cal Twomey’s Phantom Draft

Spoiler

 

[Keys]

You must be very salty on Claremont players if you even dreamt of posting this.

Charlie’s last 2 months put him way out ahead. To top it off, he’s the Mel Whinnen Medalist.

It wasn’t meant to be a sleight on Banfield at all. The opposite in fact

Rate Banfield and my post revolves around using a 4th live pick which the way our draft is shaping would leave us at risk of missing him if a bid comes in the main draft. That would be a mistake imo

Assuming 5 main list spots we can take our three R1 picks and then leave the ability to match bids on Williams and Banfield. Using a fourth pick would mean we could only cover a bid on one of that pair

There’s a possibility given the low number of draft picks likely to be used that there might not be a bid for Banfield, but I’d rather we have a contingency plan in place that’s better than crossing our fingers for no bid to materialise

• Duursma plus 2x R1 picks
• Williams
• Banfield
• Evans (who would need to get through without a bid)
• RD pick 1 - mature aged state league player (Blamires/Murdoch/Stumpf etc)
• One spot to be filled after trialling DFA players as train ons
• Walley to replace Livingstone as a Cat B or add a second DFA instead

That’s what I would like to see unless we get to our fourth pick in the draft and there’s a genuine slider who’s too good to pass on

 

[stallon]

Yes. These other names would ideally play as first receivers at pace. Gross and Hall are probably the two that you’d hope can win the hard ball.

Ideally, but why cant we have a mix like Sydney have?
Ideally Heeney, Warner and Gulden all do their best work as receivers but they still managed to get to a grand final entirely off the backs of their midfield.
With the mids we already have we dont seem to be going down the path of having the same issues Sydney had with their relatively small midfield that lacked physicality, dont have the polish perhaps but finding another Gulden I dont think is a realistic goal lol.

Yes Graham is exactly the role Sharp would take, they would rotate between mid and HFF. Set and forget. Graham and Allan are not even close in comparison to Sharp in this role, especially Allan.

I just mean someone who can stand next to someone, be a big body, mind someone at a stoppage. I dont mean for Allan to be another Graham or to be just like Sharp.
Imo Allan gets forgotten a bit, hes still a first round pick with imo a good ceiling, hes got the physicality to be a contested player long term for us imo.

We have shit rucks and have been shit at contested ball for years. Sharp is the best contested ball winner to come through in years. We’ve lost a tonne of leadership in two years, Sharp is a kid who has it in spades, we need to get better fast and Sharp plays round 1 and he’s a nice 200 game sure thing to pick alongside the upside of Duursma. There is absolutely nothing B grade about him. He is an A grade footballer, not an A Grade athlete.

Well id be hoping we fix that ruck issue at some stage, im hoping its Archer. Natural deveiopment of our young midfield will help the contested ball issues.

Ive said it before im not going to melt if we get Sharp, I would just prefer Robey or CDT as I believe theyre better prospects. I do get why the club might draft Sharp, I was happy with him earlier in the year when we first were linked with pick 2 for Allen, but with Banfield showing bits in the back part of the year(and younger banfield looking good too), and Robey firming as a very good prospect ive moved on.

With transition seemingly being the way the AFL wants the game to be played, I think using a high pick for a player whose one-wood is inside work is sub-optimal.

I know we wont agree on this anyway , not many on here hold the same views I do about the midfield

 

[Eastern Rangers]

I am about 95% confident we will be walking away with Duursma, CDT and Farrow from the first round.

Zero midfielders. Ouch.

 

[stallon]

The fact Sharp has been the most successful player in his draft surely would lend him to have the highest floor, if that eventuates to him becoming a Libba type where he thrives doing the in and under contested and defensive mid work then surely pick 2 is worth it? CDT may have a perceived higher ceiling but what is his floor?

Imo CDT is huge risk to not take him, hes the type of player who could be taking the competition by storm in 2-3 years time.

If Sharp is another Libba then itll be a very fine pick, but id still prefer CDT or Robey

 

[Bender_]

If you've got a spare 12mins for some highlights

Get excited about this guy imo

Edit: Credit to noobermensch as this is his non-BF account he post videos to on YouTube - Keys

Heard Paul Persic on the call. I wonder if he spent a SANTA MARIA on Duursma at any point.

 

[eaglevision]

Ideally, but why cant we have a mix like Sydney have?
Ideally Heeney, Warner and Gulden all do their best work as receivers but they still managed to get to a grand final entirely off the backs of their midfield.
With the mids we already have we dont seem to be going down the path of having the same issues Sydney had with their relatively small midfield that lacked physicality, dont have the polish perhaps but finding another Gulden I dont think is a realistic goal lol.

I just mean someone who can stand next to someone, be a big body, mind someone at a stoppage. I dont mean for Allan to be another Graham or to be just like Sharp.
Imo Allan gets forgotten a bit, hes still a first round pick with imo a good ceiling, hes got the physicality to be a contested player long term for us imo.

Well id be hoping we fix that ruck issue at some stage, im hoping its Archer. Natural deveiopment of our young midfield will help the contested ball issues.

Ive said it before im not going to melt if we get Sharp, I would just prefer Robey or CDT as I believe theyre better prospects. I do get why the club might draft Sharp, I was happy with him earlier in the year when we first were linked with pick 2 for Allen, but with Banfield showing bits in the back part of the year(and younger banfield looking good too), and Robey firming as a very good prospect ive moved on.

With transition seemingly being the way the AFL wants the game to be played, I think using a high pick for a player whose one-wood is inside work is sub-optimal.

I know we wont agree on this anyway , not many on here hold the same views I do about the midfield

Because we also don’t have Grundy and three midfielders who when fit each poll 20+ Brownlow votes each year.

We can’t make too many comments about Allan’s first season but having watched him closely for years as a junior as much as we all want it to happen I haven’t seen much to suggest he becomes a midfielder.

No way on earth I’d pick Robey before Sharp but I do think the club will take CDT at #2 if we hold it.

Nothing wrong with different opinions, was just interested to know why you’d formed that view on Sharp.

 

[stallon]

Because we also don’t have Grundy and three midfielders who when fit each poll 20+ Brownlow votes each year.

Im hoping we will very soon haha, once the midfield unit starts to function

We can’t make too many comments about Allan’s first season but having watched him closely for years as a junior as much as we all want it to happen I haven’t seen much to suggest he becomes a midfielder.

Fair enough, its a wait and see

No way on earth I’d pick Robey before Sharp but I do think the club will take CDT at #2 if we hold it.

Nothing wrong with different opinions, was just interested to know why you’d formed that view on Sharp.

 

[uptheWC]

Ideally, but why cant we have a mix like Sydney have?
Ideally Heeney, Warner and Gulden all do their best work as receivers but they still managed to get to a grand final entirely off the backs of their midfield.

And they got their arses handed to them by Brisbane who have Dunkley.

 

[Eastern Rangers]

Imo CDT is huge risk to not take him, hes the type of player who could be taking the competition by storm in 2-3 years time.

If Sharp is another Libba then itll be a very fine pick, but id still prefer CDT or Robey

In 3 years time everyone will probably be talking about Axel not CDT.

 

[uptheWC]

Thats absolute best case, I didnt say I think its likely.
I dont think he gets to that level.

Much more likely to get to that level than Duursma is to his ceiling or CDT to his

 

[SAweagle]

Do we need someone in there specifically to fish the ball out to these guys every time?
Harley is more than capable of getting it himself(imo hes VERY good at it), Hewett seems capable, Duursma we hope will be capable, Gross/whoever else will be capable.
As a sum of all midfielders we would have it covered, do we really need a specialist? makes us predictable and can slow the midfield down

Im not saying to neglect this role, but why cant someone like Graham/Allan(?)/whoever do it? Do we need this player to be at every centre clearance or can they be someone who starts off hff and rolls up to defend a specific oppo mid?

Could we try to ensure Allan is this player for us long term? Bo has less midfield craft than Sharp but does he need it doing a defensive role? More useful than Sharp in transition or on attack too

See comment above

Ive used Sydney and Geelong midfields as examples a few times now.
Sydney have Rowbottom doing defensive work (a B grade role player) and then a bunch of more attacking mids Heeney/Warner/Gulden/etc. Imo Sydneys midfield mix is something we should model off, but we have bigger bodied mids than they do.
Geelong have role player defensive mids, at times running multiple tags in the midfield with the sole intention of getting the ball to Smith or Holmes so they can run with it.

Geelongs midfield worked very well this year and Sydney had some injury issues this year, but their midfield in 2024 carried them to a grand final.

No A-grade players like Sharp in those teams, so why do we NEED a player like him?(like the majority of this board seems to think)
Or are we ok picking Sharp at pick 2 expecting him to be a B-grade defensive mid/extractor like Rowbottom/Atkins?

Tom Aktins is regarded at Geelong as highly as Smith/Holmes because he allows them to play their natural game.

Ideally, but why cant we have a mix like Sydney have?
Ideally Heeney, Warner and Gulden all do their best work as receivers but they still managed to get to a grand final entirely off the backs of their midfield.
With the mids we already have we dont seem to be going down the path of having the same issues Sydney had with their relatively small midfield that lacked physicality, dont have the polish perhaps but finding another Gulden I dont think is a realistic goal lol.

I just mean someone who can stand next to someone, be a big body, mind someone at a stoppage. I dont mean for Allan to be another Graham or to be just like Sharp.
Imo Allan gets forgotten a bit, hes still a first round pick with imo a good ceiling, hes got the physicality to be a contested player long term for us imo.

Well id be hoping we fix that ruck issue at some stage, im hoping its Archer. Natural deveiopment of our young midfield will help the contested ball issues.

Ive said it before im not going to melt if we get Sharp, I would just prefer Robey or CDT as I believe theyre better prospects. I do get why the club might draft Sharp, I was happy with him earlier in the year when we first were linked with pick 2 for Allen, but with Banfield showing bits in the back part of the year(and younger banfield looking good too), and Robey firming as a very good prospect ive moved on.

With transition seemingly being the way the AFL wants the game to be played, I think using a high pick for a player whose one-wood is inside work is sub-optimal.

I know we wont agree on this anyway , not many on here hold the same views I do about the midfield

Sydney got manhandled in that 24 GF by Sharp type midfielders, Dunkley Mcluggage & Neale exposed them massively, even with a dominant ruck in Grundy spoon feeding them.

 

[stallon]

Tom Aktins is regarded at Geelong as highly as Smith/Holmes because he allows them to play their natural game.

Hes still not what the majority would consider an A-grader. Can we find someone who tackles that much with a lesser pick?

Sydney got manhandled in that 24 GF by Sharp type midfielders, Dunkley Mcluggage & Neale exposed them massively, even with a dominant ruck in Grundy spoon feeding them.

I dont think neale or mcluggage are Sharp type mids. Dunkley is their only one imo

 

[stallon]

Much more likely to get to that level than Duursma is to his ceiling or CDT to his

I disagree

 

[dinnaz]

I think that’s a fair comment by stallon. If Sharp becomes 80% of Dunkley then he’s every bit worth a top 2 pick, most under rated player in the entire competition and easily the best two way midfielder.

What Sharp would offer that Dunkley doesn’t is leadership, he would be a fantastic team mate to have around guys like Harley and Hewett.

Dunkley had a back stress fractures in his top age year. Went at about what Sharp has this year- as a 17 year old.

Swans had their head up their ass wanting transition players and not another boring inside mid that just goes from contest to contest all game.

Its pretty comfortable to say Sharp will not on that same level.
Robey is fools gold so I do not want, & I still say we should sell #2

 

[ROYAL EAGLE]

Swadling plays with a wooden back, I really can't rate him. Lacks dynamism and agility needed for an inside midfielder.

Sorry his agility is outstanding its part from his soccer background
Just watch his highlights he is very dynamic mover, also didn't test at the combine but WA preseason testing was third for agility testing
He is also elite with his hands is easily the best handballer in this draft

 

[Bacchus]

Imo CDT is huge risk to not take him, hes the type of player who could be taking the competition by storm in 2-3 years time.

If Sharp is another Libba then itll be a very fine pick, but id still prefer CDT or Robey

Sounds like a classic case of FOMO to me.

Not the best reason for making a pick 2 selection. It took Blicavs several years to become an important player.

 

[maverick001]

Just my last bit on Swadling. I compared him a little to Warner in his draft year and no one really has picked up on it yet.

Similar numbers, both dominant in the colts, both a little quieter in the state games. Both viewed as third round prospects due to a lack of pace and kicking ability.

Rookie me haven’t done Swadlings player profile yet but it will read pretty similar to this but with better stats.

Chad Warner Draft Profile

DRAFT ANALYSIS: “A hard-working medium-sized midfielder who thrives on the contested side of the game.”

central.rookieme.com

Have to say that draft profile doesn’t match very closely the player we see today at AFL level.
Makes you wonder about some of these draft watchers

 

[mattyc75]

It wasn’t meant to be a sleight on Banfield at all. The opposite in fact

Rate Banfield and my post revolves around using a 4th live pick which the way our draft is shaping would leave us at risk of missing him if a bid comes in the main draft. That would be a mistake imo

Assuming 5 main list spots we can take our three R1 picks and then leave the ability to match bids on Williams and Banfield. Using a fourth pick would mean we could only cover a bid on one of that pair

There’s a possibility given the low number of draft picks likely to be used that there might not be a bid for Banfield, but I’d rather we have a contingency plan in place that’s better than crossing our fingers for no bid to materialise

• Duursma plus 2x R1 picks
• Williams
• Banfield
• Evans (who would need to get through without a bid)
• RD pick 1 - mature aged state league player (Blamires/Murdoch/Stumpf etc)
• One spot to be filled after trialling DFA players as train ons
• Walley to replace Livingstone as a Cat B or add a second DFA instead

That’s what I would like to see unless we get to our fourth pick in the draft and there’s a genuine slider who’s too good to pass on

What are the chances that we pass on walley?

 

[Wooshaaaa]

Neale and the Ashcrofts arent like Sharp.
Dunkley is the only one id compare to Sharp, but Dunkley is the absolute best case scenario for Sharp imo

If sharps half as good as Dunkley we will start winning games of footy. That defensive inside mid role frees up the stoppages.

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

Sorry his agility is outstanding its part from his soccer background
Just watch his highlights he is very dynamic mover, also didn't test at the combine but WA preseason testing was third for agility testing
He is also elite with his hands is easily the best handballer in this draft

The handball champion to replace Priddis - sounds like Trew

 

[PremiershipNo4]

Sounds like Trew

He moves a lot differently to Trew, there’s no moustache, but most importantly he managed to win a he best player in his colts team, only playing 7 games, that’s pretty impressive, racked up 40+ possessions in multiple games.

 

[Obeanie1]

We can only take so many at a time, we have a bunch on the list as it is that are still unknowns.
No way am I taking both Sharp and Swadling, that seems negligent tbh.

Pure inside mid accumulators are over-rated, and the game is moving past them

Team needs balance.

And as teams are showing you need to be a very good inside mid to hold your spot.

T Mitchell
Steele
Hobbs
Priddis

In rhe end they paid for their lack of pace and inability to play elsewhere.

 

[FootyOutlier]

Dunkley had a back stress fractures in his top age year. Went at about what Sharp has this year- as a 17 year old.

Swans had their head up their ass wanting transition players and not another boring inside mid that just goes from contest to contest all game.

Its pretty comfortable to say Sharp will not on that same level.
Robey is fools gold so I do not want, & I still say we should sell #2

You could say Robey is fools gold at the fact of the limited sample size. You also have to agree with that limited sample size, he was consistently a bloody weapon in all of those games in a row. Not a single bad game.

 

[eaglevision]

Dunkley had a back stress fractures in his top age year. Went at about what Sharp has this year- as a 17 year old.

Swans had their head up their ass wanting transition players and not another boring inside mid that just goes from contest to contest all game.

Its pretty comfortable to say Sharp will not on that same level.
Robey is fools gold so I do not want, & I still say we should sell #2

Robey isn’t fool’s gold but too much risk to go Duursma-Robey 1-2.

Sharp projects to have a ceiling of Dunkley or thereabouts, he hasn’t put a foot wrong. Of course Dunkley has the runs on the board but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s what Sharp became.

I think many would sell pick 2, just a matter of if Essendon and Melbourne are prepared to offer what it would take.

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

Team needs balance.

And as teams are showing you need to be a very good inside mid to hold your spot.

T Mitchell
Steele
Hobbs
Priddis

In rhe end they paid for their lack of pace and inability to play elsewhere.

I get your point BUT your a bit rough placing Hobbs in that group.

Steele a team captain and AA
Mitchell a Brownlow Medalist and AA
Priddis a Brownlow Medalist and AA

Hobbs was just crap

Back to the point, I have been a fan of Sharp and would love to pair him and Cumming. If push comes to shove and I can only take 1, it’s probably Sharp. As I did in our mock draft picking for the Drug Rats