List Mgmt. 2026 Draftee/NGA/FS Discussion

[Keys]

https://archive.md/QL0xc

Article provides a brief description of the most likely draft hopefuls from the WA Colts system - including the following West Coast Father/Sons and NGA tied players listed below:

Spoiler: Harper Banfield (181cm, midfielder/forward)

The son of two-time premiership Eagle Drew and younger brother of St Kilda draftee Charlie, Harper is hoping to become the Banfield’s latest AFL star. He’s smaller than his brother, but he’s a competitor with elite endurance. His sprinting and agility have also improved significantly in the last six months, suiting a half-forward, midfield role.

Spoiler: Robert Farmer (179cm, forward)

Farmer is out for revenge in 2026 after missing Claremont’s premiership. The West Coast NGA prospect kicked nine goals from seven games as a bottom-age player and he was also a train-on with the State 18s quad.

Spoiler: Noah Braun (183cm, midfielder)

The son of 2006 West Coast premiership player Michael, Noah is a goalkicking midfielder-forward who has had some big games for Claremont last year. Is pushing to make WA’s 18s squad after missing out on the summer training block.

Spoiler: Garrison Kenh (181cm, defender)

An attacking halfback who is part of West Coast’s Next Generation Academy, Kenh announced himself as one to watch a couple of years ago after winning WA’s MVP award at the Under-16 national championships. Originally from Liberia in West Africa, Kenh takes the game on with his speed and agility. He’s also trained with West Coast as part of national academy commitments.

Spoiler: Lachlan McGlade (177cm, forward)

Exciting, agile and crafty, McGlade is everything you want in a small forward. The Eagles NGA prospect likes to take the game on with his run and carry, making him one of the Royals’ most exciting players to watch. Kicked five in one game last year and will be hoping another good start to the year will cement his spot in the state squad.

Spoiler: Cody Lee (193cm, forward)

Is linked to West Coast as an NGA prospect and the Eagles would be pleased with Lee’s development. The developing tall has grown a few centimetres of late and grown into his body. His athleticism has been on show at summer squad training, finishing third in the running vertical leap at pre-season testing.

Spoiler: Jamayson Ketchup (178cm, forward)

Another Eagles NGA prospect, Ketchup isn’t just another condiment. The electric forward has an unbelievable work rate, clean skills and he always knows where the goals are. Ketchup plays his best footy at half-forward, but he can also push into the midfield when needed.

Spoiler: Kyle Perera (170cm, forward)

The West Coast NGA prospect missed most of last year with a stress fracture in his back but made an impact in the last four games of the season. Perera has been training with the State summer squad and his smarts and speed make him one to watch.

Spoiler: Lorenze Cole

The West Coast NGA prospect is known for his speed, power and X-factor. The Karratha product played in the State trial game recently and will be one to watch this year.

Spoiler: David Shanahan

Not mentioned in the article, but is a potential KPD from Swan Districts in our NGA who was on the radar of some posters last year

 

[txbyhull]

I'm not convinced we should be retaining Champion.

You'd at least want to keep him for another year in order to get whichever NGA smalls are brought in this offseason 2 AFL pre-seasons before they are relied upon.

 

[stallon]

I'm not convinced we should be retaining Champion.

One more imo, we have no other small forwards like him, and hes still got room to grow. Hes far from the worst on our list

 

[Keys]

I'm not convinced we should be retaining Champion.

He’s a Cat B rookie and can stay there for another year

On that basis, the only reason we wouldn’t extend him for 2027 would be if more than one of our NGA cohort show enough to warrant a spot on the list but not enough to have another club bid on him during the main draft

He was very lightly built when drafted so was always going to be a long term project. Ideally he’d still be playing WAFL to develop his game, but with the likes of Newton, Long and Brockman all unavailable and Cripps/Owies struggling for form he’s getting games before he’s properly ready

I see him as a Dudley level player who’s only just starting to have an impact in a better functioning side and he’s 3 years older than Champion

More than happy to stay patient with him for at least one more year

 

[Wce17]

We really do like to turn on players quickly...

 

[Eastcoasteagle]

I always thought Champion would take 4 years minimum. He needs size, tank.
He's got the skill, agility and speed.
Stengle took ages.

 

[ghostbat12]

not sure where this belongs but Whitlock over Lindsay as rising star this week.

I swear that there must be a big multi betting payout brewing if WCE have 3x nominees in 1 year or before some round. joke.

not sure if this belongs in this thread.

 

[LittleFires]

I think Champion has taken a significant step forward this year to the point where he's consistently looked a class above WAFL level when he's played for the Beagles.

To put his growth into perspective, Champion played 16 WAFL games last year and kicked 7 goals for the season, averaging 10.6 disposals and 1.9 tackles per game.

In his 4 WAFL games this year (2 of which were practice games) he's already kicked 11 goals, averaging 19 disposals and 4.5 tackles across the two League games (where proper stats were collected).

That is a huge increase in output.

His challenge now is trying to translate that form to AFL level, which I'm hopeful he can do. He's only 19 and seems to be slowly adjusting to the increased pace of the game. Kicked his first goal on the weekend which hopefully gives him some confidence that he can perform at the level, which I'm hoping the match committee give him the chance to do.

 

[squashface]

Yeah not sure what people are expecting of Champion. He’s in his second year and he’s already started to look a class above at WAFL level so improvement is tracking well.

Needs way more time imo

 

[stallon]

Yeah not sure what people are expecting of Champion. He’s in his second year and he’s already started to look a class above at WAFL level so improvement is tracking well.

Needs way more time imo

Hes not even taking up a main list spot either, hes a cat B when we have 4 bonus rookie spots too LOL

Absolute joke for anyone to be suggesting he is a delist this year lmao

 

[noobermensch]

A strong performance from Gus Teixeira, showing the strengths of his game that have him starting to appear inside the top 10 of some early ranking lists. His pace and slick kicking skills on the outside are eye catching, and he's powerful and tough enough inside to win his own ball. He had a stint in the forward line early in the fourth quarter where he kicked two quick goals, both from lead/mark and lovely set shot kicks, underpinning his dual threat as a mid/fwd.

 

[Elite Pete]

 

[txbyhull]

As we should

 

[TerryFilk]

Highly doubt the AFL will do this but it needs to happen, WA grass roots footy is in the gutter, we barely produce any true top end talent anymore and the growth rate is very concerning.

 

[txbyhull]

With a 19th and 20th team(s) incoming over the next few years, they basically have to. A traditionally strong footy state slowing to a halt at both grassroots and elite talent level is the last thing they want to be dealing with. Expect huge money pumped into the Colts system if they don't have statewide academies set up.

 

[ghostbat12]

watch the victorians (and ross the boss) squeak like little piglets.

 

[kanekingswood]

Would we be a chance for anything this year?

 

[WCE777]

As we should.
The AFL is funding the northern academies and its creating lots more talent and grown the game.
Why wouldn't they do the same for WA clubs if the figures are like they are.

Eddie has some very good ideas but can't look past his nose on this one.
AFL funds the Talent League don't they?

With the new matching rules it makes it harder to match players from academies as it should if you are at the top.
Grow the pie of players which benefits everyone.

Glad WC & FRE are having a crack at the AFL behind closed doors.

 

[txbyhull]

Would we be a chance for anything this year?

We'd have to if we win 4 or less games I think

 

[Keys]

Eddie and Hird displaying their fingernail deep level of knowledge on WA football there

Cal even said the WA clubs aren’t looking for priority access to the academy products

I’m not sure it’s the right path as I think the WAFL clubs given more funding might be a better way of developing talent but at least the clubs are looking at ways to improve things

 

[kanekingswood]

We'd have to if we win 4 or less games I think

Wonder what the assistance would be? Extra list spots, end of first round picks?

Could see us maybe getting a must-trade end of first this year if we do only win 4 or less games

 

[Elite Pete]

No access via the draft and the way we ‘win’ out of it is more WA players drafted and then when the Academy kids come home they might favour the team that helped develop them.

Been a few NGA kids from both us and Freo and none really linked to a return home so doesn’t seem like it would be a huge benefit for the Vics to cry about.

 

[txbyhull]

Wonder what the assistance would be? Extra list spots, end of first round picks?

Could see us maybe getting a must-trade end of first this year if we do only win 4 or less games

I think a must-trade end of first is the minimum.

One that often gets brought up that I find interesting is giving DVI points as compensation to struggling clubs, to trade with teams that require them to bid match. Say we were given 1200 points across 2026 and 2027, the equivalent to roughly Pick 18 and Pick 30, that we can trade to any club.

In a year like this one it would be helpful to facilitate other big FA moves like Butters to the Dogs. Would be able to trade say 400 points to the Bulldogs for Riley Garcia, to then go towards Butters.

With the increasing player movement getting pushed by the AFLPA, we see discourse with a NAS trade last year that boiils down to not having enough value. An interesting way to alleviate these sorts of issues as there will always be a club that wants extra points. Bridges a bit of that gap between the draft economics of the Northern clubs (points for their tied talent) and Vic / SA / WA clubs (picks to take players with)

 

[Elite Pete]

For the WA locals, what sports are the WA kids playing? Why such a drop off? League hasn’t really started over there. Without seeing the numbers Soccer seems to be increasing fast in every state.

Those figures for NSW would be very misleading. They have girls only Auskick 4 week programs over here and pretty much free. Same as other school holiday programs similar which not many covert ti actually joining a team/league

 

[TerryFilk]

For the WA locals, what sports are the WA kids playing? Why such a drop off? League hasn’t really started over there. Without seeing the numbers Soccer seems to be increasing fast in every state.

Those figures for NSW would be very misleading. They have girls only Auskick 4 week programs over here and pretty much free. Same as other school holiday programs similar which not many covert ti actually joining a team/league

I think basketball is the one that’s growing pretty rapidly.

 

[WCEswift]

For the WA locals, what sports are the WA kids playing? Why such a drop off? League hasn’t really started over there. Without seeing the numbers Soccer seems to be increasing fast in every state.

Those figures for NSW would be very misleading. They have girls only Auskick 4 week programs over here and pretty much free. Same as other school holiday programs similar which not many covert ti actually joining a team/league

Basketball, soccer, track and field is big atm. The main problem is the wafl clubs, the nepotism and being run shittily is seeing us lose boys and girls of elite talent because some adult has a grudge against a kid or doesnt like their attitude