Review 2025 National Draft Thread | Dovaston #16 / Thredgold #26 / Mikunda #48

[shinboner magic]

Sorry to let you down…went with:

Pick 25 - North Melbourne - Louis Emmett Oakleigh Charges - 199cm

In an ideal world north will be selecting at least one developing KP with their two picks in their twenties.

Emmett makes so much sense from a list balance perspective for North as he can play as a genuine key forward or a pinch hitter in the ruck. While his form didn’t hit the heights expected of him this year, he has still managed to show glimpses of his potential with his contested marking, physicality and work rate. He has a solid athletic base which he showcased at the combine with an elite 2km effort and excellent agility for a kid his height.

His one on one game is very raw and at times needs to work on his game sense, but with raw athleticism and competitiveness to boot he rates as solid long term option beyond pick 12 or 13.

Pick 26 - North Melbourne - Ollie Greeves Eastern Ranges - 191cm

Just too good of a player to pass up at this stage of the draft, Greeves is simply the best available at this pick. Despite investing heavily in midfield through the draft, North could still do with some developing midfield depth, especially one with some genuine height and elite stoppage craft.

Greeves rarely played a bad game throughout the year and was a big reason Eastern had such a dominant finals campaign. His stoppage craft is powerful with strong hands and the ability to shrug tackles. He is a clean player by hand but is also capable of long penetrating kicking. He also is more than capable of swinging forward and getting on the scoreboard.

While the above reads like a top 5 pick, his defensive efforts, transition running, athleticism and accountability really needs some work. He lets himself down regularly with poor efforts in this space often walking to contests or completely losing interest on the turnover. In an AFL environment though you’d expect all these deficiencies to improve considerable and at this stage of the draft his upside is too hard to ignore.

Was actually a bit harder than I thought, there was still plenty of solid talent available. Which gives me a bit hope for draft night.

Others that came into my thinking were:

Threadgold
Ludowyke
Sumner-Pickett
Oskar Taylor
Hibbins-Hargraves
LeRay

What have you done RF - picked a kid that has no rank or defensive traits - think we’re right for those types

 

[zoomba23]

Best available pure key forward and best available half back who:
Runs rather than plods
Doesn't have Darcy Tucker

13

Darcy Tucker

Age

28

Ht

184cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.9

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

7.6

5star

M

3.3

3star

T

3.3

5star

MG

239.7

4star

D

14.0

3star

K

8.5

3star

HB

5.5

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.3

4star

MG

240.5

4star

D

14.4

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.8

5star

MG

234.8

4star

's ball drop
Can find the ball

There. Done

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

Just getting a bit of payback, are the Pakistanis. Similar in Birmingham and parts of Yorkshire too, allegedly

Bradford 25% Pakistan origin. Luton and Slough are around 20%, Birmingham 17%. A couple of East London boroughs (Redbridge, Waltham Forest) are over 10% but London overall is 3%. All the main North London boroughs are below 1.5% and mainly below 1%. In fact the Jewish population in North London slightly outnumbers the total Muslim population of all origins but nobody makes London Aviv jokes. Personally if North find a Pakistani origin superstar key forward in the next few years I’ll just be bloody delighted

 

[zoomba23]

Bradford 25% Pakistan origin. Luton and Slough are around 20%, Birmingham 17%. A couple of East London boroughs (Redbridge, Waltham Forest) are over 10% but London overall is 3%. All the main North London boroughs are below 1.5% and mainly below 1%. In fact the Jewish population in North London slightly outnumbers the total Muslim population of all origins but nobody makes London Aviv jokes. Personally if North find a Pakistani origin superstar key forward in the next few years I’ll just be bloody delighted

****ing hell. All i'll say is I hope the UK's integration programs are up to scratch

 

[Passmore]

Sorry to let you down…went with:

Pick 25 - North Melbourne - Louis Emmett Oakleigh Charges - 199cm

In an ideal world north will be selecting at least one developing KP with their two picks in their twenties.

Emmett makes so much sense from a list balance perspective for North as he can play as a genuine key forward or a pinch hitter in the ruck. While his form didn’t hit the heights expected of him this year, he has still managed to show glimpses of his potential with his contested marking, physicality and work rate. He has a solid athletic base which he showcased at the combine with an elite 2km effort and excellent agility for a kid his height.

His one on one game is very raw and at times needs to work on his game sense, but with raw athleticism and competitiveness to boot he rates as solid long term option beyond pick 12 or 13.

Pick 26 - North Melbourne - Ollie Greeves Eastern Ranges - 191cm

Just too good of a player to pass up at this stage of the draft, Greeves is simply the best available at this pick. Despite investing heavily in midfield through the draft, North could still do with some developing midfield depth, especially one with some genuine height and elite stoppage craft.

Greeves rarely played a bad game throughout the year and was a big reason Eastern had such a dominant finals campaign. His stoppage craft is powerful with strong hands and the ability to shrug tackles. He is a clean player by hand but is also capable of long penetrating kicking. He also is more than capable of swinging forward and getting on the scoreboard.

While the above reads like a top 5 pick, his defensive efforts, transition running, athleticism and accountability really needs some work. He lets himself down regularly with poor efforts in this space often walking to contests or completely losing interest on the turnover. In an AFL environment though you’d expect all these deficiencies to improve considerable and at this stage of the draft his upside is too hard to ignore.

Was actually a bit harder than I thought, there was still plenty of solid talent available. Which gives me a bit hope for draft night.

Others that came into my thinking were:

Threadgold
Ludowyke
Sumner-Pickett
Oskar Taylor
Hibbins-Hargraves
LeRay

Going on your synopsis, Emmett would be ideal. A competitive beast that can pinch hit in the ruck would be the perfect foil to what we have.

 

[Ura]

Not concerned with Ludowyke's build or lack of?

He is on the younger side of the draft. I think he has a good frame to build size. Has nice assets to work in AFL.

I think Lude a better player currently and with Dawson and Goad being those upside players for us with big development needed I don’t hate the safer pick here. Emmett has nice upside but has a lot of development left for me. Last thing we need is another player who can’t kick.

 

[Ura]

roos_fanatic08 how on earth did Greeves slide that far in the mock. I can see him sliding but if he was available at our pick would be crazy not to take. Agree with you a top 15.

 

[Draft Watcher]

Oh couldn't agree more. We need another half back and/or defender who can do that.

Jacob Farrow (unlikely) - 187cm wing/hbf, Intercept & rebound, Composed. Defending 1v1? Endurance? 89.5% DE.
Josh Lindsay (maybe slider) - 183cm? Footy IQ, kicking, decision making. Defending`1v1? Not quick. 76.4% DE
Harley Barker (maybe) - 188cm, speed, endurance, and good kick. 73.4% DE.
Oskar Taylor (maybe) - 183cm, speed, ball sizzles off his boot but can blaze away. Defending 1v1?
Xavier Taylor (very unlikely) - 192cm, speed, defend, intercept and rebound 78.3% DE
Blake Thredgold (maybe) - 194cm stopper, vertical jump, speed. Solid kick/decision maker. 78% DE
Finn Davis - 188cm def, can intercept and rebound, good decision maker, takes some risk off half back.
Max Kondogiannis - 190cm Footy IQ, speed, intercept, rebound, defending 1v1? Surprised at 69.3% DE.
Matthew LeRay - 188cm wing/hbf. 67.2% DE is surprising. Used it well in the champs. Athleticsim & endurance not great.
Jett Dahlitz - 188cm def. Accumulates, good kick/decision maker. Intercept & rebound. Defending 1v1?
Rory Wright - 183cm mid/def. Clean, competitor, rebounding, good kick, sometime risky with it, speed?
Avery Thomas - 185cm Tassie. Speed, athleticism. Endurance? Decision making? Interestingly 80% DE

These guys are probably more midfielders, but I'd be more than happy to use pick 46 on them.
Riley Onley - 194cm mid. Speed and power. Risky decision maker? Technique looks okay. 67.4% DE
Blake Ouudshorn-Bennier - 181cm mid? Speed, class. Good kick and decision maker. Defending 1v1? 84.7% DE.
Fred Rodgriuez - 184cm mid. Positional need? Dual-footed, works and runs hard. Got some class. 77.8% DE

These guys are more half fwd/wing/mid types, but use the ball well from what I've seen.
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves - 186cm mid/fwd. Position need? Could he play wing/hbf? More outside but classy.
If he's on the board at 25 he'd be hard to pass up, maybe you get a hbf/def with 46. 83.3% DE.
Cameron Nairn - 188cm fwd/wing. Positional need? Speed & Endurance. Kicked 8 goals in a champs game. 75% DE.
Tyan Prindable (Lions) - 181cm mid/fwd. Positional need? Good kick. Endurance? 71.9% DE. Late bargain.

These guys could've been late or rookie options if we'd had the option to use 57 or a rookie spot.
Jacob Marron - 196cm kpd. Composed ball user. Competitor. Endurance? Production? Could've been a rookie option.
Jasper Hay - 199cm ruck/defender. Mobile. Competes in air. Lack of production. Could've been a rookie option.
Aaron Sharkie - 184cm wing/def. Running power, accumulates, kicking consistency? Could've been a rookie option.
Dale Sutherland - 183cm def. Speed. Intercept & rebound. Kicking consistency? Could've been a rookie option.

If looking for a later pick as a genuine half-back Aaron Sharkie? Averaged 25 disposals at CTL off half back, 84% DE and was BOG for Oakleigh in semi-final loss against Sandi Dragons? Unsure why we'd consider many of these guys who are forwards, mids who we may use as defenders? You have to look at guys who've played that roll like Finn Davis. Taylor and Lindsay will go too early for us.

 

[Merlin007]

Going on your synopsis, Emmett would be ideal. A competitive beast that can pinch hit in the ruck would be the perfect foil to what we have.

That's my view as well; we need someone coming through behind Darling in the forward-relief ruck role.

Souva's done a bit of it without noticeable effect and CCJ is obviously still something of a long shot; if Jack gets us through another season he'll just be about done and none of the developing talls we have look to be suitable

 

[shintemaster]

I'm curious to see post draft. This could be the first time in many a year where we aren't looking to put a draftee into our best 23 (4?) for the coming season. That quite honestly would probably be a good thing.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

What have you done RF - picked a kid that has no rank or defensive traits - think we’re right for those types

Sometimes a kid positive traits far outweigh their negative traits....

Could've gone the normal North route and reach for an undersized skinny half forward with no pace or ability to accumulate haha

 

[roos_fanatic08]

roos_fanatic08 how on earth did Greeves slide that far in the mock. I can see him sliding but if he was available at our pick would be crazy not to take. Agree with you a top 15.

While he doesn't really suit us, we'd be silly to overlook him, especially as he has a point of difference with his height. Ideally you'd be adding a midifielder with some speed (if we take a mid at all), but essentially you are replacing Phillips spot on the list with a big bodied midfielder with excellent stoppage craft and a booming left foot kick.

 

[andana]

Isnt Greeves a bit slow running?

 

[The Dingrel]

General Question,,,,Is there any opportunity to delist and rookie anyone prior to the draft or has that window closed???? Just in context of holding pick 57, I'd have thought that'd be good flexibility to have. Club no doubt has zoomed in on their targets, but if Curtin isn't one of those at 46, gee you gotta think you'd have a punt on him at 57 if still there.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

General Question,,,,Is there any opportunity to delist and rookie anyone prior to the draft or has that window closed???? Just in context of holding pick 57, I'd have thought that'd be good flexibility to have. Club no doubt has zoomed in on their targets, but if Curtin isn't one of those at 46, gee you gotta think you'd have a punt on him at 57 if still there.

Everyone on our list is contracted now so there's no room unless somebody injury retires.

 

[The Nostradamus]

General Question,,,,Is there any opportunity to delist and rookie anyone prior to the draft or has that window closed???? Just in context of holding pick 57, I'd have thought that'd be good flexibility to have. Club no doubt has zoomed in on their targets, but if Curtin isn't one of those at 46, gee you gotta think you'd have a punt on him at 57 if still there.

list lodgement deadline passed a week ago

lists are now locked in ahead of the draft

what is still not confirmed officially yet tho is our extra rookie spots

 

[The Dingrel]

Should draft him just for Caro

A different Wilson singing about the 6 first rows of chairs.....any relation?

 

[chubbspeterson]

I just can’t get too excited about O. Taylor. I know other rate him a lot and he offers plenty with his run and carry, but to me he is just not good enough one on one and will be a slower burn because of his frame. If we go a half back I want one that is more than capable of actually defending!

Thredgold was next in line for mine, but the query I have on him is production and he is kind of that tweener size at 193-94cm. Unless you are a freak, you really need to be 196cm+ to be a genuine KP these days.

Greeves ultimately was just too hard to pass up when I rate him inside the top 15. I think he’ll be a slow burn but will end up as a Tom Green like stoppage first player (LDU plays his best footy as a first receiver imo). Greeves has a long way to go with his tank and defensive application, but the same can be said for most dominant taller mids at junior level. Cripps and Green are slow as shit, so there is scope for Greeves despite his athletic shortcomings. I really like how strong overhead he is too, not too dissimilar to Jack Ziebell in that regard.

In saying that I’d have taken Onley over Greeves, purely because of athletic upside, more suited to the modern game etc etc. There is some untapped potential in Onley…i just get this gut feeling that he could end up being one of the best in this draft. I had the same feeling Freijah a few years back and that turned out to be pretty spot on!

I think with our third there will be plenty of names to consider, Dahlitz, Wright, Kondogiannias or even someone like LeRay if he slides.

It's a tough job to pick. A lot of who we take might depend on what happens before our picks.
Having 25 & 26 might allow us to go a best available slider that is too good to pass up and then a needs pick.
Then obviously 46 you could go any direction from kpf/ruck, defender, hbf or small fwd.

Agree on Oskar Taylor. I don't want a Caleb Poulter vibe of player who can attack but not really defend.
Wright, Kondogiannis or LeRay I think have shown a bit more appetite to defend.
I think someone will snap him up in the first round.

On Thredgold the 194cm height and the lack of production is a fair criticism.
It's not like we couldn't use that height anyway to play on talls or smalls though with Goater situation uncertain.
I guess I would wonder if the standing vertical and running vertical jump and wingspan (looks like he's got long arms) would make up for that somewhat. I could see him expanding his intercept and rebound game in time.
If we had another list spot, maybe we could have taken a punt on Hay or Marron as a late pick or rookie.
But we don't seem to like doing that beyond pick 60.

Greeves would be an interesting one. Not overly keen to add a clearance mid with Harris coming next year.
But good player, good ball user and decison maker, but the lack of athleticism is the question and why he may slide.
The ZeroHanger boys compared him with Cody Anderson, but suggested his ball use is far better.
I reckon Hawks would be keen with pick 22 though given their almost NGA links.
Like you I'd probably prefer to take Onley with the upside and athleticism or Wright/LeRay/Kondogiannis.

 

[chubbspeterson]

If looking for a later pick as a genuine half-back Aaron Sharkie? Averaged 25 disposals at CTL off half back, 84% DE and was BOG for Oakleigh in semi-final loss against Sandi Dragons? Unsure why we'd consider many of these guys who are forwards, mids who we may use as defenders? You have to look at guys who've played that roll like Finn Davis. Taylor and Lindsay will go too early for us.

Sure Sharkie is an option, but don't think we'd take him with 46. Maybe if 57 is live option on the night.
I listed mids and half fwd/wing types posing the question if some could play half back to start with like Freijah did.
I'd probably take Kondogiannis, Wright, Dahlitz or Finn Davis who are slightly taller and played down back over Sharkie.
Josh Lindsay might slide with his lack of atheticism, but don't think he gets anywhere near our picks.

 

[chubbspeterson]

I'm curious to see post draft. This could be the first time in many a year where we aren't looking to put a draftee into our best 23 (4?) for the coming season. That quite honestly would probably be a good thing.

I think that's a good thing. Have to stop thinking first year kids are going to be saviours as fans.
It would be great if they can work their way into the team later in the year for a few games.
One might be able to step in early if their bodies and endurance are ready.
But it should be on the guys that have been on the list 2-5 years to take some steps forward and senior players to be consistent to absorb those ups and downs as they get development and exposure at AFL level.

 

[shintemaster]

I think that's a good thing. Have to stop thinking first year kids are going to be saviours as fans.
It would be great if they can work their way into the team later in the year for a few games.
One might be able to step in early if their bodies and endurance are ready.
But it should be on the guys that have been on the list 2-5 years to take some steps forward and senior players to be consistent to absorb those ups and downs as they get development and exposure at AFL level.

Exactly. (Fit) 2, 3, 4+ year players should be smoking late 2nd / 3rd round picks.

 

[Sheezel2Wardlaw]

Live now, mock trades & draft.

 

[Sheezel2Wardlaw]

list lodgement deadline passed a week ago

lists are now locked in ahead of the draft

what is still not confirmed officially yet tho is our extra rookie spots

How does everyone else know that our extra rookie spots are gone except you?

 

[The Nostradamus]

How does everyone else know that our extra rookie spots are gone except you?

Yet no one can point to an official article

 

[Ichiro #51]

Yet no one can point to an official article

I reckon it’s probably very low on the breaking news totem pole.

Underground even.