Player Watch #1: Lachy Dovaston

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Welcome Lachy!

 

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Lachy Dovaston: Livewire forward joins Roos with pick No.16

North Melbourne has selected small forward Lachy Dovaston with pick No.16 in the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft

www.nmfc.com.au

Videos | North Melbourne FC

Latest videos from the Kangaroos

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Five things to know about Lachy Dovaston

The high-calibre forward who's a 'pest' with swagger

www.nmfc.com.au

 

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View attachment AQPPAOn_JiaMq59AyjWzUjEwek0Sz7t0YkZiV-NoDm9BS2D6LUkhRe0QQuH3QcnL8yA3cfG4seWamr0d-QGl-wRw1D1vN7...mp4

8.8K views · 57 reactions | "When I saw them move up (the order) I thought there was definitely a chance." Lachy Dovaston on being selected by the Roos in the Telstra AFL Draft. Watch Draft Night LIVE: afl.com.au/news/1454358 | AFL

"When I saw them move up (the order) I thought there was definitely a chance." Lachy Dovaston on being selected by the Roos in the Telstra AFL Draft. Watch Draft Night LIVE: afl.com.au/news/1454358

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Why the draft’s best small forward is sick of being compared to Nick Watson​

Marc McGowan


Nick Watson was a football rock star with a viral nickname – “the Wizard” – even before he became a cult figure at Hawthorn.

His reputation was that big as a teenager that students from rival private schools would sledge him from behind the fence in a desperate attempt to put him off his game. There was also another spin-off effect.

A diminutive, then-16-year-old named Lachy Dovaston, from the same Talent League club, Eastern Ranges, started being likened to Watson despite being only two years younger. That comparison become more common as Dovaston transitioned to a mulleted small forward this past season.

“I’ve heard it since I was 16,” Dovaston said, after laughing first.

“I was 16, training as a bottom-bottom-ager at Eastern when [Watson] was top age. There were a few ‘hi’s’ here and there, but I haven’t had much to do with him. I’m not the next Nick Watson – I’m the first Lachy Dovaston.”

What Dovaston is to most AFL recruiters is a certain first-round selection and the pick of the small forwards in this year’s draft class, ahead of the likes of Latrelle Pickett and Hussien El Achkar, both of whom also have fans.

Two best mates, Lachy Dovaston and Xavier Taylor, reveal their hopes leading into the AFL draft.

Lauren “LJ” Morecroft, who coached Dovaston at Ranges and Victoria Metro, swung Dovaston into defence last year with the deliberate intent of developing his defensive instincts and unleashing him as a small forward this year.

The move has been widely lauded. One scout told this masthead that Dovaston was more advanced at the same age defensively – and with his running ability – than Watson, who boasts a few more tricks.

Dovaston, who earned under-18 All-Australian honours and made the Talent League’s team of the year, is not lacking in the latter area either.

He averaged 16 disposals and almost 2.5 goals a game for Eastern this past season, including a season-most 24 touches and two majors in their grand final win over reigning premiers Sandringham Dragons.

The first of those goals – a superb set-shot finish from just inside the boundary line, almost 50 metres out – came after drawing a head-high free kick, which is another skill he shares with Watson. He celebrated by spinning around, arms outstretched, to an adoring crowd.
Like Essendon’s Isaac Kako 12 months ago, Dovaston revealed he already had some goal celebrations to unleash once he reached the AFL stage.

“I’ve got some that I haven’t used this year,” he said.

“I’m always on TikTok and Instagram. I even sometimes just search for soccer or basketball celebrations, screenshot a few, then you try to remember them when you’re playing.”

Dovaston is his own man, but also every bit fits the small forward stereotype. A self-confessed pest, he provides the locker-room light relief, is not afraid to sledge opponents, has a healthy dose of confidence, plays with a swagger, and considers himself to be a “pretty laid-back, pretty cruisy” person.

He took the same approach to answering recruiter questions at the draft combine, after continually being asked what was something no one knows about him.

“I just YOLO [you only live once] it, on the spot,” Dovaston said, chuckling again. “I just say I’m pretty good at golf, or pretty good at video games. They’re the main two – I switch between them.”

So how good is Dovaston at golf?

“I haven’t got a handicap, so I’m not actually that good. I just go with it.”

But Dovaston wants everyone to know that he is not just a jokester. He is hard-working, too, and plans to maximise his talent to try and have a long and successful AFL career.

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“Obviously, there’s not a lot I can do now, but hopefully, my footy has done the talking, and I will be drafted as high as possible,” he said.

“It’s such an honour to be in this position, and it’s on the back of all the hard work I’ve done and all the help I’ve had throughout the years. It’s awesome that it could come true, and I will hopefully, play next year.”

 

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‘Pest’: How two big trades sparked frenzy for future star, with FIVE clubs circling​

Ben Waterworth

Updated Phantom Draft: Big top-15 calls, bid NOT matched as first 30 AFL picks predicted

Updated Phantom Draft: Big top-15 calls, bid NOT matched as first 30 AFL picks predicted

www.foxsports.com.au

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He’s the self-confessed “pest” with dreams of celebrating freakish goals in front of a packed MCG.

And, for good reason, he’s become one of the most in-demand players near the top-end of this year’s AFL draft.

Lachy Dovaston, the best small forward in the 2025 draft, is all but certain to be taken on the first night of the draft, with the Eastern Ranges star receiving an invite to Wednesday night’s first round.

It’s expected the 177cm Eastern Ranges star won’t have to wait too long into the night for his name to be called out.


If the Bombers overlook Dovaston at Pick 9 – the selection Essendon will receive from Carlton in an early live trade on draft night – it’s expected one of Hawthorn (Pick 10) or North Melbourne (Pick 11) will pounce. The prospect of Dovaston and Nick Watson being in the same Hawthorn forward line is tantalising, while the Roos really need another small goalkicker to support Paul Curtis — and Dovaston could be their man.
Should he slip past those clubs, West Coast (Pick 13) and Adelaide (Pick 16) have also been strongly linked.

The Kangaroos, like the Bombers, will secure a top-11 pick via a trade with the Blues, who also like Dovaston but have instead prioritised more draft points to match bids on Harry Dean and Jack Ison. Those Carlton moves have led to a significant interest surge from clubs at that point in the draft in Dovaston, who describes himself as “a classic small forward”.

“I’d like to say a bit of swagger, a bit of a pest – stuff like that,” he told foxfooty.com.au with a smile while overlooking the MCG field. “And the goalkicking and defensive pressure and being clean.”

Dovaston just knows where the goals are, kicking 38 majors in the Ranges’ premiership campaign — to earn Coates Talent League team of the year honours — and nine goals from four national carnival games for Vic Metro to be named All-Australian.

He was then one of the best all-round performers at the draft combine. The highlight was his agility test result of 7.794 seconds – the fastest time of the 2025 national combine and the fourth-fastest ever recorded — while he also recorded top-five finishes in both the running vertical jump (89cm) and standing vertical jump (74cm).

Add a flowing mullet to his natural talent and athleticism and you’ve got a player who’d “definitely thrive off the big crowds and the big stage”.

“When I look out here, I just imagine like 100,000 people and just kicking a goal and doing a celebration to the crowd – that’s the main thing,” he said.

“It’s pretty surreal. It’s pretty awesome to think that in the next few years, I could be playing out here on the ‘G.”

One of the doubts around Dovaston at the start of the season was how consistent he could be game-to-game.

But he answered that question with an outstanding season. At all levels.

“I had a really consistent year, which I’m also happy with. Then to be able to make All-Australian and Metro was a big honour and win it all at Eastern and then also get a VFL debut – they were all goals (I had) going into the year and I ticked them all off,” he said.

For Dovaston, his bottom-age season (2024) was “a big learning year”.

Ranges coach Lauren ‘LJ’ Morecroft, who also coached Dovaston at Vic Metro this year, played Dovaston as a defender.

Lachy Dovaston of the Eastern Ranges. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/AFL Photos/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

The Blackburn product initially struggled to see the big picture behind the move before it eventually clicked.

“Playing defence was LJ’s idea. At the time, I was like: ‘What the hell?’ But it was unreal and she’s been unreal for me and probably helped me the most out of any coach. We have such a good connection,” he said.

“I’m really close with ‘LJ’. She’s such an honest person and she’ll tell you when you’re going well and when you’re not going well.

“I knew pretty early from the end of last year going into the pre-season that I was going to play the small forward and high half-forward role … But the main thing I wanted to focus on was defensive pressure. I sort of knew I had the offensive traits, but the defensive pressure is probably more important than the goals. I think I turned that into a strength, but it’s still something I can get better at every game. The better that is, the better everything else is.”
While Morecroft has had a profound impact on his journey, Dovaston has also taken inspiration from the highs and lows of his cousin: Ex-Magpie Nathan Murphy

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Nathan Murphy

Age

26

Ht

192cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.5

3star

K

6.5

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

1.5

3star

MG

176.5

3star

No current season stats available

D

11.5

3star

K

6.5

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

1.5

4star

MG

176.5

3star

.

Taken by Collingwood with Pick 39 in the 2017 draft, Murphy overcame a series of injuries early in his career before becoming an integral part of the Magpies’ back six alongside Darcy Moore

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Darcy Moore

Age

30

Ht

203cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.1

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

4.1

3star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

169.1

3star

D

13.9

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

0.7

1star

MG

182.0

3star

D

6.8

2star

K

4.2

2star

HB

2.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

1.8

4star

MG

87.4

2star

and Jeremy Howe

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Jeremy Howe

Age

35

Ht

190cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.0

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.7

4star

M

6.4

5star

T

2.1

4star

MG

318.1

4star

D

21.5

5star

K

16.5

5star

HB

5.0

3star

M

6.5

5star

T

2.0

3star

MG

433.3

5star

D

15.2

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

6.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

.

Murphy was part of Collingwood’s premiership triumph over Brisbane in 2023. But his 57th match would also be his last in the AFL, with the key defender medically retiring seven months later due to an ongoing battle with concussion.

“I’ve spoken to him a bit over the last few years,” Dovaston said of Murphy. “Seeing him get drafted and play AFL, that’s when I realised ‘this is a goal I want to do’ and hopefully I’d be good enough to do it.

“Obviously getting medically retired has been tough on him. He’s living down at Torquay and still working at Collingwood and had a new little daughter recently, but he’s given me some good advice.”

Murphy’s concussion history has also prompted Dovaston to take an interest in head trauma.
“At school we do a lot (assignments) and I’m pretty much always doing something about concussion in footy,” he said.

“It’s a bit of an easy one, I guess. It’s just so huge and you see that they’re trying to stamp it out with suspending people straight away, which I think is good if you want to get it out of the game. It’s not good to be medically retired like he (Murphy) is, but it’s for the best in a way.

Lachy Dovaston of Vic Metro. Picture: Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

“Through school and stuff, I’ve done some tasks. Probably not enough, but once you get drafted, no doubt you’ll understand it even more.”

Undoubtedly a future crowd favourite at the top level, Dovaston declared he is “so ready” for full-time professional AFL footballer life.

“I think that’s something I pride myself on. I’m always ready and seem to excel with the next step I go to, whether that was Metro or VFL this year,” he said.

“I just can’t wait to hopefully get called out on one of the draft nights and then work as hard as I can and get into it.”

 

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We couldn’t believe he was still available.

 

[The Nostradamus]

pls be dovaston or lindsay

 

[kool kangas]

pls be dovaston or lindsay

Lindsay or Farrow pls...

 

[Topparoo]

Lindsay or Farrow pls...

Yep same for me

 

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[Harveysuth]

Welcome Josh Lindsay!!

 

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Welcome to the best club in the world

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

It is bloody snowing here in London! 6.5 months more before I come home. Hopefully the pick brings out the sun.

 

[Lomas]

It is bloody snowing here in London! 6.5 months more before I come home. Hopefully the pick brings out the sun.

You there still?

 

[Zondor]

Reserved

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

You there still?

Yep. Retiring end of May next year then home a bit after.

 

[koshari]

It is bloody snowing here in London! 6.5 months more before I come home. Hopefully the pick brings out the sun.

the suns have already bought out a pick.

 

[koshari]

hawks will take doveston?
pair him up withthe wizzard

 

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don't you worry about planet express let me worry about [reserved]

 

[The Nostradamus]

pls be dovaston or lindsay

we are on here!

 

[koshari]

cant beleive < > was still available....